Biden Enacts Stopgap Funding Bill – One America News Network
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
9:31 AM – Saturday, December 21, 2024
President Joe Biden has signed a new version of a temporary spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown that loomed due to a missed deadline.
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On Saturday, Biden enacted a concise version of the spending legislation.
Earlier this week, the initial short-term bill was unveiled, spanning 1,547 pages and including disaster assistance along with various policy measures.
This original bill faced criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, Elon Musk, and other conservative voices.
“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief,” Trump and Vance stated in a comprehensive statement against the bill on Wednesday.
The original spending bill aimed to maintain government funding at current levels for the fiscal year 2024 until March 14th. It proposed over $100 million in relief for disaster-stricken areas, including victims of Hurricane Helene that occurred in September, alongside a $10 billion provision to support farmers.
The U.S. national debt continues to rise, recorded at $36,167,604,149,955.61 as of Thursday.
Criticism from Musk and others was driven by the bill’s complexity and certain provisions, including an increase in legislators’ living costs.
On Thursday, House Republicans revised their approach, proposing an amended bill that incorporated a two-year suspension of the debt limit and a three-month extension of current spending levels at Trump’s urging.
This proposal also included more than $110 billion in disaster relief and financial aid for farmers.
However, Democrats united against this plan, and numerous Republicans also chose to oppose it, leading to its failure in the House on Thursday night.
By Friday morning, it was clear that no consensus existed between Democrats and Republicans in Congress for a new bill.
Despite the failure of the previous proposal, the newly crafted measure ultimately passed both the House and the Senate. This bill provided assistance for those affected by recent storms and financial aid for farmers. Although Trump had advocated for a debt ceiling suspension, it did not make it into the final temporary package.
The House successfully passed the short-term budget plan with a two-thirds majority, reaching 366 affirmative votes. The measure was then sent to the Senate.
On Friday evening, the senators voted 85 to 11 to advance the brief spending bill to Biden’s desk.
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