BySiladitya Ray,
Forbes Staff.
The Senate moved towards ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history on Sunday after a group of eight Democrats joined the Republicans in the chamber and backed a procedural vote on a legislative deal to fund the government, in a move that has drawn strong pushback from some Democratic leaders as it lacks guarantees on extensions for health care subsidies.
The Senate voted 60-40 on the procedural vote to advance the spending bill, with eight Democrats backing it, while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone Republican dissenter.
The procedural vote advances a package that will fund most federal agencies through late January and includes a clause to reverse the mass firings of federal workers carried out after the shutdown began.
