Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday the House will vote this week on a three-month stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government open through Dec. 20.

If the measure goes into effect, the government would avert a shutdown that is set to begin at the start of next month without congressional action.

In a letter to colleagues, Johnson, R-La., said the “legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR including only the extensions that are absolutely necessary.”

“While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent path forward under the present circumstances,” he continued. “As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice.”

Congress has just over a week to pass a short-term funding bill, also known as a continuing resolution, or CR, to avert a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1. If the House passes the bill, it will move on to the Senate.