The U.S. Senate passes a temporary funding bill to avert a government shutdown. The 87-11 vote in the U.S. Senate marked the end of the third fiscal impasse in Congress this year. The government’s more than $31 trillion in debt slid to the brink of default this spring due to disagreements among lawmakers, and fell into default twice within days of a partial shutdown that would disrupt government payments and affect about 4 million federal workers. .
The last near-shutdown led to the ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on October 3 and left the House leaderless for three weeks, according to Reuters.
But lawmakers bought themselves just over two months of breathing room. The next deadline for the Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives is Jan. 19, just days after the Iowa caucuses mark the start of the 2024 presidential campaign season.
“There will be no drama, no delays and no government shutdown,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reassured before the vote.
McCarthy’s successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, proposed a stopgap appropriations bill that garnered broad bipartisan support, a rarity in modern American politics. Democrats said they were pleased it stuck to spending levels set in the May deal with Biden and did not include poison pill provisions on abortion and other hot-button social issues.
The legislation would extend funding until Jan. 19 for military construction, veterans’ benefits, transportation, housing, urban development, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and energy and water projects. But funding for all other federal operations, including defense, is set to expire in February.
Lawmakers were unable to act on other proposals, including Biden’s request for $106 billion in aid for Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security, due to repeated disputes over funding to keep the government running.
