The House on Wednesday approved legislation to avert a government shutdown in a 267-151 vote despite opposition from Democrats who complained that the measure locks in the $85 billion sequester.

Fifty-three Democrats supported the bill, likely because it will help avoid a shutdown. Fourteen Republicans voted against it.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to make additions to the bill and try to send it back to the House before March 27, when funding for the government runs out. The bill would keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The vote came after a 212-197 vote on the rule for the bill, which 16 Republicans opposed. That 15-vote margin was smaller than the 17 Democrats who didn't vote on the rule, and who might have tipped that result.

The debate and vote show that Democrats will continue to argue for an immediate solution to the sequester. Republicans, however, had a chance to argue that the Democratic Senate has failed to pass any bill at all to replace the spending cuts, and that President Obama has not put forward any solution other than one that includes new tax increases.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/ho...r#ixzz2MnbUIk9P
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook