[U.S. Senate Passes Spending Bill to Fund Most Federal Government Departments] BlockBeats News, January 31 – On January 30 local time, the U.S. Senate passed a spending bill to fund most federal government departments and submitted the bill to the House of Representatives for review. Since House members are not in Washington and will not return until Monday (February 2), the Senate vote cannot avoid a partial government shutdown starting in the early hours of January 31. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated in a private call with House Republicans that the most likely way for the House to pass the proposal is to hold a vote through a fast-track procedure on Monday evening.