President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending package Saturday, ending the prospect of a government shutdown, after the bill passed in a rushed series of congressional votes with bipartisan support and reached his desk shortly after 2 a.m landed
The government faced a possible shutdown if the measure does not come into force before midnight on Friday. But as the Senate vote came to a close, the White House released a statement saying that federal officials in the Office of Management and Budget had “ceased preparations for the shutdown” in anticipation of impending passage and signature by the Senate by Mr. Biden.
In a statement, the president said approval of the measure was “good news for the American people.” But he pointed to the months of protracted negotiations that preceded the last-minute approvals, saying the agreement was “a compromise” and that “neither side got everything it wanted.”
The spending deal “rejects extreme cuts by House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance abuse treatment, promotes U.S. leadership abroad and provides resources to close the border.” secure that my administration has successfully fought to include,” Mr. Biden said.
The 1,012-page legislative package consolidated the remaining six of 12 annual spending bills to fund key parts of the government through September, the end of the fiscal year. It was the culmination of months of arduous negotiations in which Congress passed four emergency measures.
Lawmakers wrote the package that Mr. Biden signed on Saturday to comply with the debt and spending deal negotiated last year by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Mr. Biden. It called for spending on domestic programs to remain essentially unchanged.
Far-right Republicans in the House rejected the bill, which had bipartisan support. With its passage all but certain, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, began calling for a vote to remove Speaker Mike Johnson. In the end, more than half of Republicans voted against the spending measure and it passed by a vote of 286-134. The Senate’s balance sheet was more one-sided, with 74 votes in favor and 24 against.
Both Democrats and Republicans highlighted victories in final legislation. Republicans cited funding for 2,000 new Border Patrol agents, additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention beds and a provision cutting aid to the main United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinians as successes. Democrats, including Mr. Biden, secured increased funding for federal child care and education programs as well as cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
Mr. Biden noted that two major pieces of legislation remain pending in Congress: a border security deal and a foreign aid package that would provide arms to Israel and Ukraine. The Senate approved the foreign aid measure in a bipartisan vote last month, but it has faced hostility from House Republicans.
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2024-03-23 18:48:50
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