By a vote of 335-91 — including a majority of Democrats — the House voted Tuesday afternoon to slash $4 billion in federal spending between March 4 and March 18.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate should adopt this package word for word within 48 hours, which will prevent a government shutdown.
The real shutdown fight begins now, as House and Senate leaders put their heads together over a longer-term spending bill, to keep the government running through September.