(MENAFN- Live Mint) The US House on Wednesday approved a bill to end the nation's longest government shutdown which began 43 days ago leading federal employees without paychecks, stranded travelers at airports and families waiting in line at food banks for meals. President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law later this evening.

The bill was approved by a vote of 222 to 209, with six Democrats breaking ranks to join Republicans in support. Eight Senate Democrats on Monday joined Republicans to pass a funding bill that keeps the government running until January 30, adding roughly $1.8 trillion a year to the nation's $38 trillion debt.

How many votes were needed as government shutdown nears end?

The magic number was 217 to approve the bill as the government shutdown nears end.

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The agreement comprises restoring all government jobs lost during the shutdown, ensures federal employees receive back pay and extends temporary government funding through January, according to BBC. What it doesn't cover? The deal stops short of meeting a key Democratic demand, securing an automatic extension of health insurance subsidies. Rather than including the subsidy extension in the continuing resolution, it schedules a separate vote on the tax credits for the end of the second week in December.

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As the prolonged government shutdown draws to a close, the Transportation Department and Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that flight reductions at 40 major US airports will be capped at 6%, instead of increasing to 10% by Friday, according to Bloomberg. Last week, the government issued an emergency order requiring airlines to cut flights at 40 of the busiest airports due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. The reductions began at 4% and were scheduled to rise to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday.

Meanwhile, as per Reuters, Republican Representative David Schweikert of Arizona, comparing Congress' handling of the shutdown to the chaotic misadventures of the popular 1990s sitcom, stated,“I feel like I just lived a Seinfeld episode. We just spent 40 days and I still don't know what the plotline was. I really thought this would be like 48 hours: people will have their piece, they'll get a moment to have a temper tantrum, and we'll get back to work. What's happened now when rage is policy?"

(With inputs from agencies)

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