US House vote coming on emergency spending bill

The U.S. Capitol building is seen on January 11, 2010 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is moving toward a test vote on an emergency spending bill to keep the government running past Oct. 1.
The vote on Wednesday followed a lengthy speech from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, opposing President Barack Obama's health care law.
The House version of the stop-gap spending bill would de-fund implementation of the health care law, but Senate Democrats intend to remove that provision. While some conservative senators helped Cruz hold the floor, Republican leaders in the Senate did not support his effort.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Wednesday the government will have exhausted its borrowing authority by Oct. 17, and that will leave just $30 billion cash on hand to pay bills.
That's a slightly worse financial position than Treasury predicted last month, and adds to the pressure on Congress to increase the government's borrowing cap soon to avert an unprecedented U.S. default on its obligations.
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