Moments after the U.S. Senate approved a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown, it passed a bipartisan bill to prevent devastating cuts to D.C.’s budget.

The CR effectively repealed D.C.’s current year budget, forcing the District to go back to the prior year's levels, even though D.C. raises most of its own money. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the District would have to cut spending by $1.1 billion over just a few months.

But legislation passed by a voice vote would remove the requirement in the CR preventing D.C. from spending that billion dollars in its budget.

When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took the floor of the Senate to support the CR, he opened by announcing a deal to keep D.C. from cutting that billion dollars.

“Soon, the Senate will vote on a bipartisan piece of legislation that will make an important D.C. funding fix,” he said. “This legislation will make sure that we take care of the residents of the District. It will support law enforcement and firefighters and city services. The legislation is very good news for the residents of the District of Columbia. I’m happy we’re passing the bill today.

“I thank my colleagues for working quickly to bring this bill to the floor,” Schumer said. “Once the Senate acts, we urge the House to act quickly.”

The bipartisan bill introduced by Sens Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., would authorize D.C. to continue spending its fiscal year 2025 local funds using local tax revenue, NBC News reported.

After the Senate approved the continuing resolution, Collins took to the floor to introduce the legislation restoring D.C.’s spending, saying it has the endorsements of President Donald Trump and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R- Okla.

“This bill would simply fix a mistake in the House CR that prevents the District of Columbia from spending its own tax dollars as part of its budget, which Congress routinely approves,” Collins said.

Now, it's up to the House – when it returns – to approve the bill exempting D.C. The House put the D.C. language in the CR, originally.

“We’re hopeful that Sen. Susan Collins’ standalone bill will solve the problem for the District. But we won’t know for sure until the House comes back after March 24. And even then, there are risks," D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said in a statement. 

Collins said she spoke with Bowser about the legislation Thursday.

The mayor’s office declined to comment to News4.

D.C. already took steps preparing for the funding cut. The city administrator issued an order Friday restricting spending on travel, training and office improvements for all government agencies, as well as requiring permission before any agency does any hiring, promotions or bonuses.

The Senate passed the CR 54-46 Friday evening. It goes to Trump to be signed into law.

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