President Joe Biden signed Government Funding Bill to avoid Shutdown

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On Thursday, the House and Senate both approved a short-term government funding bill, just hours before funding is set to expire. The bill keeps federal agencies open through early December and staves off a partial government shutdown. The stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote of 65 to 35, overcoming the 60-vote threshold needed for approval. It was then swiftly taken up by the House, which cleared the bill with a vote of 254 to 175. Two administration officials said President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in the Oval Office shortly thereafter, ahead of the midnight deadline to prevent a lapse in federal funding. Biden issued a statement and said, “There’s so much more to do”.

President Biden also said, “But the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people”. On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that a deal had been reached on the short-term funding measure after an earlier bill. It includes a provision to suspend the debt limit through December 2022, which was blocked by Republican senators this week. However, the bill includes $6.3 billion in funding for Afghan refugee resettlement and $28.6 billion for disaster relief following a spate of recent hurricanes and wildfires, keeping federal agencies funded at current levels through December 3. Senators voted on three amendments from Republican senators before the final vote in the upper chamber.

The vote aimed to curb assistance for certain Afghan refugees and prohibiting federal funds for COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The passage of the funding measure by both chambers averts one fiscal crisis including a partial government shutdown. But leaves unanswered the need for Congress to raise or suspend the debt ceiling. The path for how Democratic leaders designed to skirt a debt crisis without Republican support remains unclear. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed congressional leaders this week that the US would exhaust extraordinary measures allowing the government to pay its bills on October 18. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she expected a big bipartisan vote on a funding bill and didn’t believe the government would shut down if Congress failed to act by Thursday night. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said it is the responsibility of the party in power to address the debt limit.