1st LD: U.S. Congress passes stopgap bill to extend gov't funding until March

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a short-term spending bill that would extend government funding until March, a few hours after the bill was approved by the Senate, as funding for some federal agencies and programs is set to expire on Saturday.

The lower chamber passed the measure by a vote of 314-108 amid opposition from hard-line House Republicans, who had attempted to add border security provisions in the "clean" stopgap measure.