Senate Approves Important Government Money Bills Just Before Deadline to Avoid Shutdown!
Cybersecdn– Six bills to fund the government were passed by the Senate on Friday evening, just hours before the government was supposed to shut down. Lawmakers worked hard to get the measure passed before the deadline. The bill is now on its way to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed.
Biden is likely to sign the package into law on Saturday. The White House said that the Office of Management and Budget stopped making plans for the shutdown on Friday because Congress had passed the bill, which is what the pool said. “Because federal funding obligations are made and tracked every day, and the President will sign the bill tomorrow, agencies will not shut down and may go back to normal tomorrow,” the White House said in a statement.
The Senate passed the bill with a vote of 75 to 22 on Friday night. The House had already passed the bill on Wednesday. The spending bills, which have the support of the top Democrats and Republicans in both houses, are a big step forward for lawmakers. For months, they have been using stopgap bills to keep the government from shutting down at the last minute. Congress has finally passed new laws that will fund the government’s most important offices and agencies for the rest of the fiscal year.
But the work isn’t done yet. Before March 22, lawmakers still need to finish and pass a second set of spending bills. The spending package includes money for the Food and Drug Administration, military construction, Veterans Affairs, Energy, the Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and other federal programs. Both Democrats and Republicans say it is a win for them.
The package will support many different programs and initiatives, such as hiring more air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors, giving veterans better medical care and benefits, and funding science, technology, and research projects that will make the US more economically competitive, especially when it comes to AI and other fields where the US competes with China.
The plan was passed by both Democrats and Republicans in the House on Wednesday, even though Republicans have a very small majority. The vote was 339 to 85, with 132 Republicans voting for it and 83 Republicans voting against it. Two Democrats voted against it.
Democrats have pointed out that the package pays important social safety net programs. For example, it gives $7 billion to the WIC program, which helps women, babies, and kids eat better. This is an increase of $1 billion from the previous fiscal year. The package also includes money for rental aid and other programs that help feed kids, like the school lunch program. Republicans, on the other hand, have said that the bill will cut spending and include conservative policy riders.
Right-wing Republicans have criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for how he has handled the fight over government spending. In a statement, Johnson said, “This legislation prohibits the Department of Justice from targeting parents exercising their right to free speech before school boards, and it prohibits the Biden Administration from taking away veterans’ Second Amendment rights.” It cuts the EPA, ATF, and FBI by a lot, agencies that, under the Biden administration, put our freedoms and economy at risk. At the same time, it fully pays for veterans’ health care.
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The extreme House Freedom Caucus officially opposed the spending package, saying in a statement that it “punts on nearly every single Republican policy priority” and “surrenders Republicans’ leverage to force radical Democrats to the table to truly secure the southern border.” This shows that conservatives are against it.
