US Senate passes short-term funding bill, stops partial government shutdown

Washington, DC [US], March 1 (ANI): The US Senate has passed a short-term funding bill that stopped a partial government shutdown expected on Friday night. The tally of the final vote on Thursday stood at 77-13, ABC News reported.

The bill now heads to US President Joe Biden’s desk. The new funding deadlines for the government spending bills are now due on March 8 and March 22.

US Congress will now return next week to finish working on the first tranche of six funding bills that are due by March 8. US President Joe Biden said that passage of a short-term funding bill is good for Americans but noted that it is “short-term fix” and not a long-term solution, according to ABC News report.

He urged US Congress to pass a full-term funding bill as well as the national security supplemental. In a statement on Thursday, Biden said, “During my meeting with Congressional Leaders this week, we all agreed on the vital importance of supporting Ukraine. That understanding must now be backed with action.”

“In addition to arming Ukraine as they defend against Russian attacks every single day, this bill will help ensure that Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats. And it will provide critical humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and those impacted by conflicts around the world,” he added.

In the US House of Representatives, Democrat lawmakers helped Speaker Mike Johnson to pass the funding bill in the House. The House voted 320-99 in bipartisan fashion to pass the CR. Only two Democrat lawmakers voted against the vote, joining 97 Republicans who opposed it.

The measure introduced under “suspension of the rules,” required a two-third majority vote to pass, which implied that Mike Johnson required votes of Democrat lawmakers to pass it, ABC News report.

On Wednesday, House and Senate leaders reached a bipartisan agreement to avoid the partial government shutdown of roughly 20 per cent of the government, and create new funding deadlines: March 8 for that 20 per cent and March 22 for the remaining 80 per cent, according to ABC News report.

Johnson hoped that an additional week could give Congress additional time to pass all remaining appropriations bills to fully fund the government through the end of FY 2024. The bill’s passage comes after Johnson previous commitment that there would be no more short-term funding bills.