U.S. Senate vote averted a shutdown

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the $1.2 trillion budget bill and sent it to President Joe Biden for his signature, after which it will become law. Thus Congress managed at the last moment to prevent a shutdown – a partial shutdown of the federal government.

74 senators voted in favor of passing the bill, 24 voted against it.

After the bill is passed by the Senate, in which Democrats have a majority, key federal agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury, and the State Department, will be funded until September 30. The 1,012-page document also provides $886 billion in funding for the Defense Department, including pay raises for U.S. troops.

Senate leaders spent several hours Friday debating a series of amendments to the bill, which were ultimately rejected. The delay pushed the bill’s passage to a later date.

The bill does not include funding for military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel. That spending is part of another bill that passed the Senate and has so far been ignored by the House.

The last shutdown occurred during Donald Trump’s presidency – from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019. The record-long government shutdown occurred because the Republican president insisted on allocating money to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and was unable to reach an agreement with Democrats.

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