The Senate passed an extraordinary spending measure Thursday to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Senators approved the emergency bill by a vote of 77-13 and will send it to President Biden, who is expected to sign it. The bill passed the House on the same day by a vote of 320-99.
Four amendments to the short-term spending measure introduced by Republicans died before the final Senate vote on the bill.
The measure, known as a continuing resolution or CR, would extend the first of two funding deadlines for some government departments from this Friday to March 8.
A second deadline to fund all remaining government agencies will be extended from March 8 to March 22.
Ahead of the Senate vote, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said passage of the CR “paves the way for the first six spending bills next week.”
Negotiators have reached agreement on a full-year spending bill that would fund the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Interior, Veterans Affairs and Transportation, and must be passed by March 8.
The remaining six funding bills, related to Financial Services and General Government, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of Labor, and Legislature and Foreign Operations, must be finalized and voted on by March 22.
For each new fiscal year that begins on October 1, Congress is tasked with funding the government through 12 spending bills. It is often packaged in an omnibus format.
Nearly five months into fiscal year 2024, lawmakers have passed three interim CRs, but no individual spending bills have reached the Senate.
Back in January, Congressional leaders announced major funding agreements: $886.3 billion for defense spending and $772.7 billion for various non-defense programs.
Biden is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on March 7, the day before the first spending deadline.
