US: Congress Narrowly, Temporarily Averts Shutdown

By Staff, Agencies

The US Congress on Thursday sent a short-term funding bill to the United States President Joe Biden’s desk, averting a partial government shutdown the coming weekend. The decision buys lawmakers time to fund federal agencies through September.

In a statement Thursday night, US President Joe Biden said that while the legislation “prevents a damaging shutdown and allows more time for Congress to work toward full-year funding bills,” it is also “a short-term fix - not a long-term solution. In the days ahead, Congress must do its job and pass full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people.”

“It's good we're not shutting down. And now let us finish the job of funding the government so we don't have to do this again,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. before the vote. “As I’ve said repeatedly to the speaker, the only way to get things done in divided government is bipartisanship. I'm glad the speaker heard our plea and worked with us to avoid a shutdown next week.”

The continuing resolution [CR] is part of a broader bipartisan spending deal congressional leaders announced earlier on Wednesday. The document includes six of the 12 spending bills that fund federal agencies and was endorsed by the White House. Biden is said to sign the CR into law before money runs out for part of the government late Friday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had faced criticism from the conservatives who believed they were kept in the dark about his negotiations with the Democrats. “The appropriations process is ugly; democracy is ugly. This is the way it works every year; always has. Except that we instituted some innovations; we broke the omnibus fever,” Johnson said.

“We’re trying to turn the aircraft carrier back to real budgeting and spending reform,” he added. “This was an important thing - to break it up into smaller pieces.”