US President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law that will finance the government until early December, avoiding yet another government shutdown.

The law was narrowly enacted by Congress only hours before the planned shutdown, which would have forced museums, national parks, and safety programs to close. Money for storm assistance and Afghan refugees is also included in the measure.

Biden, who signed the law avoiding a government shutdown with only hours to spare, said its success reminds us that bipartisan cooperation is possible.

Federal agencies will not have to close on Friday as a result of the bill and hundreds of thousands of government employees will not have to take unpaid leaves. Given the current Covid-19 epidemic, the possible impact on health services was of special concern. In the case of a shutdown, the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) may have been compelled to send up to 43% of its workers home.

Republicans and Democrats in the Senate reached an agreement on Wednesday night to keep the government running until December 3 through a temporary budget known as a continuing resolution. On Thursday, the bill cleared the Senate by a vote of 65 to 35, with 15 Republicans voting in favor. It passed the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 254 to 175.

A separate vote on President Biden’s $1 trillion (£750 billion) infrastructure plan has been postponed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced she would hold a vote on the infrastructure measure late Thursday, but it was postponed until at least Friday due to severe divisions between the Democratic party’s progressive and centrist wings.

Progressives have refused to endorse the law until a second, more comprehensive measure dealing with climate change and social welfare is agreed upon. The postponement, according to party officials, is only a short setback.