US President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.2-trillion budget bill on Saturday to fund the US government through the fiscal year starting six months ago and avert a partial shutdown, The New York Times reported.
“The bipartisan funding bill I just signed keeps the government open, invests in the American people, and strengthens our economy and national security.”
The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 74 to 24 after the deadline for funding government agencies expired. However, shortly after the deadline expired, the White House sent out a notice announcing that the Office of Management and Budget had stopped preparing for a shutdown because there was a high degree of confidence that Congress would pass the bill and the President would sign it into law on Saturday.
Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer announced a breakthrough on the short-term government shutdown shortly before midnight:
“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.”
The six-month, $1.2-trillion package includes a ban on direct funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which provides key aid to Gaza, until March 2025.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, praised lawmakers who helped complete the process but lamented the significant delay in reaching a resolution.
It should never have taken us this long to get here. We should not teeter on the verge of a shutdown and lurch from one CR to another.
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, criticised congressional leaders for releasing a lengthy “1,000-page” bill early Thursday morning and holding a final vote a day later. He warned that the bill was “teeming with about $2bn worth of earmarks at a time when we can’t afford the additional debt,” urging colleagues to block the proposal.
Murray accused some Republicans of consistently jeopardising the functionality of the federal government and urged her colleagues to “learn from the hard lessons of the past few months about how we get things done in a divided government.”
“Working together, focusing on solutions, solving problems for people back home: that is the responsible way to get things done.”
