Congress Passes Bill to Fund Government through the Fiscal Year

President Biden Signs $1.2 Trillion Government Funding Bill

After months of negotiations, Congress has passed a bill to fund the government through the fiscal year, with President Biden signing the bill into law on Saturday. The bill includes $1.2 trillion in funding for various departments, including State, Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, and Health and Human Services.

Impacts of the Bill

The bill will fund the government through the end of September, bringing an end to a turbulent funding process that has lasted for an entire year, featuring six months of stopgap bills and intense partisan conflicts over policy and money.

Bipartisan Cooperation

Despite the divided Congress, both parties were able to come together to pass the bill, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries receiving recognition from Biden for their leadership.

Controversy Over Amendments

The bill faced some challenges when Senate Republicans demanded votes on several amendments. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) accused Democrats of obstructing the bill’s passage ahead of the midnight deadline. However, these claims were disputed by Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana), who called Cotton’s claims “bulls—.”

The Funding Process

The funding process for the government has been a controversial issue in recent history, with Congress narrowly avoiding multiple shutdowns this session by passing four stopgap bills that kept extending the deadline. The latest bill was released last Thursday and passed by the House on Friday morning.

The Future of Funding for the Government

Given the state of the divided government, it remains to be seen how future funding for the government will be handled. On a positive note, despite the challenges Congress faced funding the government this time around, it managed to pass all 12 appropriations bills in a year.

Originally Post From https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/us-government-partial-government-shutdown-deadline-funding-midnight-rcna144746

Biden Signs $1.2 Trillion Government Funding Bill – NBC News