The White House announced that President Joe Biden had signed the funding bills package into law on Saturday. This action averted a partial government shutdown. Biden described the agreement as a compromise.
He noted that neither side achieved all of its desired outcomes. However, he emphasized that the legislation rejects severe budget reductions proposed by House Republicans.
Instead, it focuses on enhancing access to child care. It also supports cancer research and funds mental health and substance use care. Additionally, the legislation promotes American leadership internationally. It allocates resources to secure the border, a provision his Administration successfully advocated for.
Biden reiterated his call for Congress to pass a national security supplemental bill. This bill would provide U.S. assistance to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
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Additionally, it would allocate funding for border security and reforms to border policy. “Congress’s work isn’t finished,” Biden emphasized. He later added, “It’s time to get this done.”
After a day marked by procedural challenges, the Senate eventually passed the government funding bills in the early morning hours of Saturday. The Senate had reached an eleventh-hour amendment agreement, allowing for expedited passage of the bill.
“It’s been a very long and difficult day, but we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government. It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn’t easy but tonight our persistence has been worth it,” Schumer said. “It is good for the American people that we have reached an agreement to fund the government tonight.”
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Shortly after midnight, the White House announced that the Office of Management and Budget had halted its shutdown preparations. They expressed “a high degree of confidence” that Congress would soon pass funding bills to prevent a government shutdown.
“After the Senate passed the bill,” the White House stated, “because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked daily, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations.”
Earlier on Friday afternoon, the bills passed in the House with a vote of 286-134. This occurred despite resistance from far-right members of the Republican caucus. Notably, more Democrats supported the bill compared to Republicans, with over 100 GOP lawmakers voting against it.
The $1.2 trillion package, viewed as a significant bipartisan endeavor in the deeply divided House, encompasses funding for six bills.
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These include Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor and Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, and State and Foreign Operations.
If approved by both chambers, the package will fund the government until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. This would also halt the recurring cycle of continuing resolutions, which has nearly resulted in government shutdowns, at least partially, five times since October.
The government funding package was introduced in the House under suspension of the rules, necessitating a two-thirds majority vote for passage. Consequently, House Speaker Mike Johnson once again had to seek support from Democrats to ensure the bills’ approval.
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