Democrats Offer Funding Bill as Government Shutdown Threat Nears

Senate Democrats released a short-term government funding bill late Monday that included a measure to speed up energy project permits that’s opposed by most Republicans and some Democrats.

Congress must pass the measure by midnight Friday to avert a government shutdown. Leaders of both parties in the Senate are eager to avoid that chaotic outcome just over a month before the midterm elections. But the permit legislation proposed by Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, is adding an additional bit of drama with the deadline closing in.

The chances of a government shutdown are fairly low because Congress ...