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U.S. House passes bill to reopen government; Trump says he’ll veto it

WATCH: Pelosi cites security concerns, asks for SOTU to be postponed – Jan 17, 2019

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a measure to reopen the federal government through Feb. 8.

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The Democratic bill was approved 237-187 on Wednesday, mostly along party lines, but appears dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate. The measure also provided approval for $14 billion in emergency spending for recent hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters.

The White House said President Donald Trump will veto the bill, calling it unacceptable without a broader agreement to address what Trump calls a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

WATCH: Stories from U.S. workers impacted by the partial government shutdown

Some Republicans accused Democrats of politicizing disaster aid, noting that the bill put many GOP lawmakers who support Trump’s proposed border wall in the position of voting against disaster aid for their own districts.

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House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey said the bill would help families and communities recover from disasters while reopening the government.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House said Trump signed a bill that will require some 800,000 federal employees to be compensated for wages lost or work performed during the partial government shutdown.

WATCH: Pelosi urges Trump to reschedule State of the Union

Wednesday’s bill signing was closed to the media. The House and Senate had voted to give the workers back pay whenever the federal government reopens.

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READ MORE: U.S. government shutdown taking a bigger bite of the economy than people expected

The shutdown is in its fourth week with no end in sight.

Federal employees received pay stubs with nothing but zeros on them last week. Some posted photos of their empty earnings statements on social media as a rallying cry to end the shutdown.

WATCH: Senate Dems urge Trump to end government shutdown

The shutdown has resulted from a dispute over border wall funding. Democrats remain opposed to Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion. They say they’ll discuss border security once the government reopens.

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