- The Senate passed a last-minute spending bill averting a government shutdown that would have triggered a calamitous domino effect on the American public and economy.
- The bill allows the government to stay open for 45 days, giving the House and Senate more time to finish their funding legislation.
- Since the inception of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, the U.S. has unleashed a war chest worth more than $43 billion in security assistance for Kyiv.
- President Joe Biden took shots at “extreme House Republicans” as he applauded the bill’s passage.
- The shutdown crisis was largely triggered by a small group of Hardline Republicans who had defied their own party leadership to scupper various temporary funding proposals as they pressed for deep spending cuts.
- The stopgap measure buys legislators time to negotiate full-year spending bills for the rest of fiscal 2024.
In the midst of the extreme financial crisis in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to provide emergency funding to federal agencies for another 45 days.
As the government of United States President Joe Biden finds itself in yet another financial bind, the US Congress has passed an 11th-hour funding bill to prevent a US Government shutdown and keep the federal agencies functioning for another 45 days.
Just three hours before midnight on Saturday, the Senate approved the passage of a bill preventing the shutdown of the federal government and providing them with emergency funding for at least 45 days, not including the aid to war-torn Ukraine.
The 45-day resolution was proposed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after a rebellion by hard-line fellow Republicans who control the chamber.
Its passage capped off a dramatic day on Capitol Hill that started with the government appearing headed for a near-certain shutdown. Instead, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who had for weeks brushed off demands to work with Democrats on a spending solution, brought forward a temporary patch that could pass only with substantial Democratic help, The New York Times reported.
The US government shutdown, in the context of the federal agencies, means that tens of thousands of federal employees in the United States would be placed on furlough without pay and multiple state services would be suspended indefinitely amid the financial crisis.
In a statement released shortly after the Senate vote, President Joe Biden said: “Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans. This bill ensures that active-duty troops will continue to get paid, travelers will be spared airport delays, millions of women and children will continue to have access to vital nutrition assistance, and so much more. This is good news for the American people,” he added.
According to this bill, the funding and aid for Ukraine in the midst of a war with Russia has been suspended for now, the Speaker said that the passage for help for the Ukrainians will remain open in the future.
(With inputs from agencies)
