Berkley absence explained

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., departed Washington on Friday for a family gathering in New York, missing the late night vote that kept the government running while a budget deal is finalized, her chief of staff said today.

"Family members had been counting on a family meet up in NYC for months and had come from far away," Richard Urey said in an email.

As negotiations continued through the day and threatened to last far into the evening, Berkley told House Democratic leaders of her plight, Urey said.

"Leadership said ok" for Berkley to leave, presumably on the belief that if if any late agreement required a vote, it would pass overwhelmingly, Urey said.

That's the way it happened. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached an agreement a little more than an hour before the midnight deadline for avoiding a government shutdown.

With a deal in hand, the House and Senate passed one more short-term "continuing resolution" to keep departments funded through Thursday while the spending agreement is translated into legislation and moved to passage.

The Senate passed the continuing resolution by unanimous consent. The House vote was 348-70. Reps. Dean Heller and Joe Heck, both R-Nev., voted for it, Berkley, who was one of 14 absent lawmakers, also would have voted for it, Urey said.