House rejects three-week DHS funding extension

By David Lawder and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Friday failed to approve a stopgap funding bill for the U.S. domestic security agency, increasing the threat of a partial agency shutdown at midnight. With just hours left before spending authority expires for the Department of Homeland Security, a three-week spending bill was rejected in the House by a 224-203 vote, leaving lawmakers with few options ahead of the deadline. Congressional leaders made no immediate comment about their next step in a political battle sparked by Republican efforts to block funding for Democratic President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration by attaching provisions to the department spending bill. Created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the department is a super-agency that encompasses the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration and immigration, customs and emergency management authorities.

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