OAN’s Avril Elfie
10:10am – Saturday, March 23, 2024
The Senate approved a $1.2 trillion spending package that averted a government shutdown two hours after the midnight deadline.
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On Saturday, Congress approved the package in a 74-24 vote around 2 a.m., two hours after the shutdown deadline.
The bill will now go to President Joe Biden’s desk for approval.
The House passed the bill early Friday morning on a bipartisan vote of 286-134.
The package represents the last annual government funding bill to pass Congress. The system was first introduced in late September, about six months after Congress authorized the completion of fiscal year 2024 spending work.
The bill includes spending for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and state departments, as well as financial services and overseas operations. In total, the package covers about half of discretionary spending spread across 12 annual funding bills.
Republicans are pushing to include border measures like the Laken Riley Act, which senators say would force the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft-related crimes.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) is pushing another amendment attacking tailpipe emissions regulations put in place by the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, in response to the vote, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) fired Mike Johnson as speaker early Friday, accusing him of kneeling to Democrats while approving the package. A motion was filed.
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