Biden Signs Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown
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Biden signs a short-term appropriations bill that funds the government till December 3.
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US President Joe Biden
Hours before funding was set to expire, Congress avoided a government shutdown, with US President Joe Biden signing a short-term appropriations bill that funds the government till Dec. 3.
Washington had to meet the deadline of Thursday midnight to prevent a shutdown of some federal operations. After signing, Biden said it “meets critical and urgent needs of the nation", adding that “there’s so much more to do.”
.@PressSec: “The President, the Speaker of the House and the [Senate Majority] Leader have more experience getting legislation across the finish line than any group of Democratic leaders in history.” pic.twitter.com/rfAvuWq0CX
— The Hill (@thehill) September 30, 2021
The Senate and the House
The funding legislation was endorsed by the Senate and the House earlier on Thursday. The Senate passed it with all 50 Democrats voting in favor of it and 15 Republicans joining them with a 65-35 vote margin.
In its turn, the House passed the bill with a 254-175 margin with the support of all Democratic representatives and 34 Republicans.
Funding plan and solutions
The resolution is set to maintain spending at current levels into December while lawmakers discuss a full-year funding plan. It includes money for hurricane relief and the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
“This is a good outcome, one I’m happy we are getting done,” Schumer said before the Senate vote.
A government shutdown could have led to the suspension of federal workers and certain services, and a funding lapse could have posed challenges to US efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Congress was set to end one possible crisis Thursday, but another crisis was looming. Lawmakers still need to raise or suspend the debt ceiling before Oct. 18 to prevent possible default on US debt that would lead to job losses, economic damage, and a drop in the stock market.
It is worth noting that the Democrats tried to fund the government and suspend the debt ceiling as part of the same bill. On the other hand, Senate Republicans blocked the legislation, even though extending the ceiling doesn’t authorize new spending.
Infrastructure and social spending bills postponed
Biden is trying to persuade Congress to pass two bills that include massive infrastructure investment ($1.2 trillion) and social spending ($3.5 trillion).
Biden approved these two huge projects as a central component of his mandate. However, their approval clashed in Congress between Biden's Democratic allies, as the more left-wing members are pushing for the passage of the two texts simultaneously, while the more moderate members want the infrastructure bill to be voted first.
