House passes appropriations package to end partial government shutdown 

The House Feb. 3 voted 217-214 to pass the government funding plan approved by the Senate Jan. 30, ending the four-day partial shutdown. Twenty-one Republicans voted against the package, while 21 Democrats crossed party lines to support it. The package consists of a short-term continuing resolution to fund the Department of Homeland Security until Feb. 13, and a package of five full-year appropriations bills with conferenced legislation for the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. A bipartisan health package was also included with retroactive extensions of key health care programs, many of which are supported by the AHA.