On Thursday, Senator Jon Tester supported a bipartisan government funding bill. The bill which passed 72 to 26 in the Senate, and by an overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives earlier this week, eliminates the threat of a government shutdown, and reduces the cuts put in place by the sequester. The measure would also fund the government through September.

"“For too long, we’ve staggered from crisis to crisis, holding our small businesses and economy hostage," Tester said. "We now have a responsible, bipartisan bill that provides businesses with more certainty and makes tough choices so we can strengthen our economy and continue to get our fiscal house in order.  No bill is perfect, but Montana benefits when folks compromise and find reasons to say ‘yes’ instead of ‘no.’’

The bill repeals $63 billion over two years in sequester cuts, but eliminates or reduces funding for dozens of programs that continued to exist because Congress could not agree to a new funding bill.

“We now have a responsible bipartisan bill that we can work with, one that invests in our future to strengthen our economy, but that makes tough choices so that we can continue to get our fiscal house in order," Tester said.

The bipartisan measure supports efforts to reduce sexual assault in the military, fully restore cuts to Head Start, and increase funding for job training and veterans’ health care.  It also repeals the cut to the size of annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments for disabled military retirees and for survivors of military retirees.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill.

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