The Senate on Thursday cleared a three-bill spending package that passed the House last week, sending the measure to President Trump for his signature.
Those three bills will join three others that were signed into law in November as part of a deal to end the record 43-day government shutdown.
That’s half of the 12 annual appropriations bills Congress is supposed to pass before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.
Congress gave itself until Jan. 30 to complete the delayed appropriations process. They are on track to pass at least 11 of the 12 bills by then.
Negotiations over the spending bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security have been harder to resolve because of Democrats’ drive to crack down on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a federal agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis last week.
The three bills the Senate passed on Thursday total roughly $180 billion in funding for the departments of Commerce, Energy, Interior and Justice, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
After the vote, the Senate departed for a congressional recess. Many lawmakers are heading out on overseas trips, including a bipartisan delegation that is headed to Denmark to reaffirm support for the NATO ally. The Trump administration is pressuring Denmark to give the U.S. control of Greenland.
When the Senate returns the week of Jan. 26, it will only have a few days to pass the remaining six appropriations bills, two of which have already passed the House.
At least three of the other four are expected to be released this weekend, with only the Homeland Security spending bill in doubt. The House will take up that three- or four-bill package next week.