House will pass funding bill, avoid government shutdown: Boehner

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker John Boehner vowed on Sunday that Congress will avoid a government shutdown this week and he would push through as much unfinished legislation as possible before leaving at the end of October. Speaking on CBS' Face the Nation two days after his surprise resignation, he said the House this week would pass a government funding bill now moving through the Senate, which does not meet conservatives' demands to cut off money for Planned Parenthood. Asked if passage would require Democratic votes, he responded: "I'm sure it will, but I suspect my Democratic colleagues want to keep the government open as much as I do." Boehner resigned amid deep divisions among House Republicans over a range of issues including the handling of a Sept. 30 deadline to approve new funding for federal agencies and programs from education to national parks.

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