Congress keeps government open for a few more days

The House and Senate on Friday approved an extension of stop-gap funding legislation until Dec. 21, a move that put off a possible government shutdown that would have begun midnight Saturday.

President Obama signed the measure Saturday.

The House will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, with votes as early as 11 a.m.

"We have been in constant communication with the United States Senate and are not exactly sure what they are going to pass and, more importantly, when they are going to pass it," House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on the House floor.

Hoyer's comments came after Senate Republicans Thursday evening killed a $1.108 trillion end-of-year omnibus package Democrats had hoped to clear.

"There is a lot of blame to go around," Hoyer said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Thursday introduced a CR that would fund government programs at current levels through February 18.

But the White House is sending signals it wants a longer-term CR to avoid a spending fight at the beginning of the year.

"Our folks are working with Democrats and Republicans to see what the options are for continuing resolutions," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at an off-camera briefing Friday. He reiterated that the president's preference would have been a bill without earmarks, as the administration has been saying for the past several days.

Gibbs also said that the administration would prefer a yearlong continuing resolution, rather than the two-month CR proposed by McConnell.

Dan Friedman contributed to this report.