The U.S. Senate passed a provisional spending bill on Thursday night to fund the government through Feb.18 and avoid a near-term shutdown, after leaders defused a partisan standoff over the vaccination mandate. mandatory against COVID-19. The proposal now passes to President Joe Biden for enactment.
Hours earlier, congressional leaders announced that they had finally reached an agreement that would keep the government running for an additional 11 weeks, at current overall spending levels, while adding $ 7 billion to help people evacuated from Afghanistan.
Once the House of Representatives passed the measure, senators announced a deal that would allow them to vote on it quickly.
“I’m glad that in the end, cold heads prevailed. The government will continue to function and I thank the members of this chamber for stepping away from the brink of an avoidable, unnecessary and costly shutdown.”Said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The Senate approved the bill by 69 votes in favor and 28 against.
The House of Representatives, with a Democratic majority, approved the bill by a vote of 221-212. Republican leaders urged their supporters to vote against it. The only Republican vote in favor came from Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
Lawmakers lamented the short-term fix and held the opposition party responsible for the lack of progress on spending initiatives this year. Representative Rosa DeLauro, president of the Budget Appropriations Commission, said that, even so, the measure would allow negotiating a package that covers the rest of the fiscal year until September.
“Make no mistake: a vote against this resolution is a vote to shut down the government”DeLauro pointed out during the debate in the House of Representatives.
Before the vote, President Joe Biden said he had spoken with Senate leaders and downplayed fears of a government shutdown.
“There is a plan, unless someone decides to be totally erratic, but I don’t think that will happen.”Declared Biden.
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