US Congress passes $1.2 trillion funding bill to avert government shutdown
Capitol Hill when the House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion, six-bill package Friday at lunchtime, representing the largest and most contentious section of federal funding. With cash running out at midnight for three-quarters of the government, including defense and homeland security, the Senate was thrust into a race against the clock to advance the legislation to President Joe Biden's desk.
But the budget negotiations looked like they were breaking down, with both sides pushing to tweak the legislation to reflect their campaign messaging and priorities ahead of November's presidential election, when Biden faces former president Donald Trump. Senators were preparing to adjourn with no deal on holding a vote, which would have prompted the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to begin scaling back operations in key federal agencies on Saturday morning.
But a deal came together just as the midnight deadline arrived and the Senate voted to pass the resolution after 2:00 am local time (0600 GMT) in Washington. - Shutdown preparations 'ceased' - "OMB has ceased shutdown preparations because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the president will sign the bill on Saturday," the White House said in a statement after the deal was struck.
"Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations." Hours earlier, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had angered his own right flank by relying on Democratic votes to advance the package to the Senate. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a close ally of Trump, told reporters she had filed a "motion to vacate" the
. Read more on livemint.com
