President Biden on Saturday signed a $1.2 trillion government funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown, capping a frenzied race by lawmakers to pass a final version of the spending bill.
Biden praised the measure as a compromise and “good news for the American people.”
“This agreement represents a compromise, meaning neither side got everything they wanted,” Biden continued, “with significant cuts from House Republicans and a reduction in child care. Expanding access, investing in cancer research, funding mental health and substance use care, and advancing America’s leadership overseas and securing the borders my administration fought successfully to include. That’s good news for the American people.”
Biden challenged Congress in his remarks, asking the House to pass a supplemental national security bill and Congress to pass a border security agreement.
“Now is the time to get this done,” Biden said.
The House passed the bill on a bipartisan vote of 286-134 on Friday, spurring calls among some conservatives to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
The bill passed the Senate on a 74-24 vote early Saturday morning after hours of intense negotiations.
The president signed the bill past a midnight Friday deadline, but the Office of Management and Budget halted preparations for the shutdown as it became clear the bill would soon reach Biden’s desk.
“Because federal fund obligations are accrued and tracked daily, government agencies will not be shut down and may continue normal operations,” the White House said.
The bill provides $1.2 trillion in funding for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security (DHS), Labor, Health and Human Services, states, general government, financial services, and overseas operations.
Defense spending is expected to increase by more than 3%, in line with an agreement reached last year between President Biden and House Republican leaders to limit federal spending. Non-defense funding is almost flat compared to the previous year.
The bills fall short of the deep cuts that House Republicans called for in last year’s partisan budget proposal, but the party also said the two sides had been haggling over parity between defense and non-defense funding increases. He also boasts that it is a departure from the past few years.
Programs expected to see more modest cuts in the package include the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Friday’s bill signing marks the third time this month the president has signed a funding bill to avert some type of government shutdown. He recently signed a $460 billion package of six spending bills on March 9, including Military Construction, Water Development, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. provided funding to the following ministries.
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