As Matt Herrington wrote yesterday, the 41-day government shutdown appears to be coming to an end. The Senate has taken a major step toward it by passing a package that includes full funding for a year for three appropriations bills, including Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, the Legislative Branch, and the Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill. The Continuing Resolution (CR) portion of the bill funds 9 of the 12 appropriations bills through 30 January. It includes funding for entitlements and mandatory programs at the rate necessary to maintain program operations consistent with law between now and 30 January. It also provides an additional appropriation, beyond 30 January, for payments that are required to be made...