WASHINGTON: The US Senate will vote Thursday on legislation to fund federal agencies, Democrats announced -- a move likely to avert a damaging government shutdown hours before the cash runs out.

"We have agreement on the CR -- the continuing resolution -- to prevent the government shutdown. And we should be voting on that tomorrow morning," Chuck Schumer, the party's leader in the upper chamber, said late Wednesday.

As deadline looms, Democrats scramble to avert government shutdown

The House of Representatives will hold its own vote on the stopgap provision soon after, keeping the lights on until December 3. The measure has wide support in both chambers and is expected to pass comfortably into law.