US Legislators Approve Temporary Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown
Congress avoided a potential government shutdown by approving a temporary funding extension for key federal agencies beyond the weekend deadline on Thursday.
With 12 spending bills still awaiting approval five months into the fiscal year, Congress faced looming deadlines of Friday night and March 8 to continue funding various agencies and programs.
The House, led by Republicans, and the Senate, controlled by Democrats, passed a short-term “continuing resolution” to extend the deadline for the first six bills to March 8, with a final deadline set for March 22 for the remaining six bills.
This extension prevented crucial areas like agriculture, science, veterans’ programs, transportation, and housing from running out of funds, which could have impacted food safety inspections, air traffic controllers’ pay, and other essential functions.
A full government shutdown would have occurred after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7, affecting defense, border security, Congress, and various other departments and agencies.
The temporary funding bill, the fourth under the current Congress and the third while House Speaker Mike Johnson has been in charge, provides a few extra days for lawmakers to finalize the annual spending bills.
While most Democrats supported the resolution, 97 Republicans voted against it in the House. The Senate passed it with a 77-13 vote, and it is now awaiting President Biden’s signature to avoid a government shutdown.
There has been internal conflict within the Republican party, with moderates viewing shutdowns as harmful to their political prospects in the upcoming elections, while conservatives in secure positions are pushing for confrontations on certain issues.
Biden recently met with congressional leaders to urge them to reach a budget agreement and to address the stalled aid for Ukraine due to the ongoing infighting among Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation to pass essential legislation and criticized the hard-right faction for hindering progress in Congress.
