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President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending bill on Saturday after Congress passed the long-overdue bill hours earlier, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown. did.
“This agreement is a compromise and means both sides got everything they wanted,” Biden said in a statement. “But it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans, expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, and strengthens American leadership abroad.” We will provide resources to improve and secure our borders. … This is good news for the United States, Americans.”
It took lawmakers six months into the current budget year to move closer to the government funding finish line, but conservatives have pushed for more policy mandates and deeper spending cuts than the Democratic-led Senate and White House would consider. delayed the process. The impasse necessitated several short-term spending bills to keep government agencies funded.
Biden signed the bill at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was spending the weekend, the White House said. The bill had passed the Senate on a 74-24 vote shortly after funding for government agencies expired at midnight.
But the White House issued a notice shortly after the deadline, announcing that the Office of Management and Budget had halted preparations for the shutdown because it had high confidence that Congress would pass the bill and the Democratic president would sign it on Saturday. .
The first package of full-year spending bills, which would provide funding to the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and the Interior, among others, came two weeks ago with just hours left before funding for those agencies expires. It was passed by Congress. The second covered the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and other aspects of general government.
Together, the two packages will provide approximately $1.66 trillion in discretionary spending for the budget year. This does not include funding for programs such as Social Security and Medicare or the growing national debt.
The package provided $300 million under the defense spending umbrella for aid to Ukraine, which Biden and his administration have argued is important and necessary to deter Russian aggression. The funding is separate from larger aid packages for Ukraine and Israel that are stalled on Capitol Hill.
In a statement, Biden reiterated his call for Congress to pass additional aid.
“The House must pass a bipartisan national security supplement to advance our national security interests, and Congress must work here to ensure the policies and funding needed to secure our borders. We must pass a bipartisan border security agreement that is the toughest and fairest reform in decades. It’s time to get it done.”
The bipartisan border package collapsed last month when Republican senators halted months of negotiations with Democrats on a bill aimed at reducing record numbers of illegal border crossings.
To win Republican support, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said part of the spending increase would be set aside to add about 8,000 detention beds for immigrants awaiting immigration processing and deportation. did. This is an increase of approximately 24% from current levels. Republican leaders also highlighted additional funding to hire about 2,000 Border Patrol agents.
Democrats boast of a $1 billion increase for Head Start programs and new child care centers for military families. They also highlighted a $120 million increase in funding for cancer research and a $100 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research.
The spending package largely follows what then-California House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to with the White House in May 2023, with a two-year plan to keep the federal government paying its bills. The debt ceiling would be suspended until January 2025.
The prospect of a short-term government shutdown seemed to strengthen Friday night as Republicans and Democrats fought over amendments to the bill. But just before midnight, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced a solution.
“It’s good for the country that we’ve reached a bipartisan agreement. It wasn’t easy, but tonight’s persistence paid off,” Schumer said.
The House passed the bill Friday morning by a vote of 286-134, narrowly achieving the two-thirds majority needed for approval.
The House vote reflected anger among Republicans over the contents of the package and the speed with which it was voted on. Ultimately, Johnson brought the bill to the floor even though a majority of Republicans voted against it. He later said the bill “represents the best outcome achievable in divided government.”
In a sign of conservative dissatisfaction, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) launched an effort to expel Mr. Johnson as soon as the House began voting, but it was not until the House reconvened two weeks later. I refrained from taking any further action. This is the same tool used to remove Mr. McCarthy last year.
The breakdown of the votes was 101 Republicans in favor and 112 against. On the other hand, 185 Democratic Party members were in favor and 22 were against.
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