The Senate voted early Saturday in favor of a $1.2 trillion spending plan to fund the government, averting a government shutdown and sending the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature.
74-24 vote Ends at 2:03 a.m. ETThe bill passed Friday morning after more than 12 hours of negotiations after the House voted 286-134 to bring forward a 1,012-page spending bill that covers an estimated 70% of the government's discretionary spending. Ta.
A two-thirds majority was required for the House to vote, but it narrowly passed that threshold amid strong Republican opposition.
The bill, which would fund the government until the end of September, is the final stage in a protracted battle that stretches nearly six months into the fiscal year and risks headwinds for the economy. Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten praised the vote in a statement, noting that “a fully functioning U.S. government brings critical stability to American businesses, workers, and families.”
But the bill could not be passed in the House until more than 112 Republicans, the majority of the Republican caucus, voted against House Speaker Mike Johnson's move to work with Democrats.
Amid the debate, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a motion to resign and remove Johnson from office. In subsequent comments to reporters, she described the move as a “warning” to Mr Johnson.
The White House announced shortly after midnight that preparations for the shutdown had been completed in anticipation of the president signing the bill later Saturday. Biden has already pledged to sign the bill as soon as possible, and a formal policy statement released Thursday called for swift passage.
“It's been a very long and difficult day,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor late Friday night, adding: “Our persistence paid off tonight.”
read more: How the government shutdown will affect your money: Student loans, Social Security, investing, and more
Parliament is currently scheduled to go into recess for two weeks.
Commitment to borders
The tight deadline is the result of last-minute delays over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border.
rear Calls from some Republicans Because the budget process will be used to “dismantle” Biden's border policies, some changes will be implemented at the border, although the final product will be significantly less dramatic. Provisions include new resources for the U.S. Border Patrol and additional detention beds operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Other highlights of the huge bill include cutting off U.S. government aid to UNRWA, the United Nations' main agency providing aid to the Palestinians, although many of its employees were killed on October 7 in southern Israel. There are accusations that he took part in the attack.
The bill also includes increased federal funding for child care and research into cancer and Alzheimer's disease, among other Democratic priorities.
Provisions for other sectors of government, including agriculture, commerce and transport, have already been agreed and enacted in a separate agreement passed earlier this month.
opposition from the right
In the House, the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill is required under a process known as a suspension of rules, leaving leaders, particularly Republicans, scrambling ahead of Friday's vote. . The final close tally came after the influential House Freedom Caucus objected. call invoice “A huge spending bill was drafted in secret and dropped on us in the middle of the night.”
There are many conservatives in the Senate. Rand Paul of Kentucky Tommy Tuberville of Alabama Ron Johnson of Wisconsin Twenty-three Republican senators voted against final passage, eventually agreeing to move the bill through more quickly in exchange for a series of amendment votes, which were defeated.
As for the economic impact, it remains to be seen whether another near-miss at the Capitol will be another blow for U.S. credit rating agencies.
S&P decided to downgrade the US credit rating in 2011. Last August, Fitch followed up with its own downgrade, citing government dysfunction as the main reason.
Moody's took its own action in November, taking a negative stance toward the United States. He stopped short of being downgraded, but kept his future options open.
This post has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is Yahoo Finance's Washington correspondent.
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