The House managed to pass a temporary spending bill with just hours to spare on the closing of the fiscal year on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
The vote passed 257 to 151. Every single one of the votes against the bill came from the Republican aisle. Conservatives are against funding the government until the government stops funding Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides nationwide health services to men and women. Republicans want to defund Planned Parenthood because of a series of controversial - some say doctored - videos that seem to depict the organization mishandling fetal tissues obtained through the abortions it performs.
Many blame the Planned Parenthood debate and subsequent shutdown threat on the resignation of Speaker of the House John Boehner, who only recently announced that he will step down from his powerful position.
But the spending bill is only temporary. A more permanent solution must be found in December, when the issue will again come to the House floor, according to ABC News. The House remains divided on the issue.
"Republican leadership chose to abandon its constitutional power of the purse and to fund 100 percent of President Obama's failed agenda," Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. Cruz is currently campaigning to win the Republican primary election. The winner will run in the general election to become the next President of the United States.
The Planned Parenthood funding issue is certainly one obstacle in the spending bill, but there are other issues on which the two parties do not agree. The White House wants to increase funds for domestic programs, which conservatives do not want, according to Fox News.
