The US Congress decided to approve a funding bill Saturday in rare cross-party unity, keeping agencies running through September and avoiding a damaging partial government shutdown.
Senators missed a midnight deadline to pass a $1.2 trillion package to keep the lights on in multiple key government agencies but voted in the early hours to pass a resolution that had already advanced from the House.
Democratic Majority leader Chuck Schumer said, “It wasn’t easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it,” and he added, “It is good for the American people that we have reached a bipartisan agreement to finish the job,”
A day of high-stakes drama started on Capitol Hill when the House of Representatives decided to pass a $1.2 trillion, six-bill package Friday at lunchtime, representing the largest and most contentious section of federal funding.
With cash reserves running out at midnight for three-quarters of the government, including homeland security and defense, the Senate was pressured into a race against the clock to advance the legislation to President Joe Biden’s Desk.
However, the budget negotiations looked like they were on the verge of breaking down, with both sides pushing to change the legislation to reflect their campaign messaging and priorities ahead of the presidential elections in November when Biden faces former President Donald Trump.
Senators were ready to adjourn with no deal on holding a vote, which would have prompted the White House Office of Management and Budget to begin scaling back operations in key federal agencies on Saturday morning.
However, a deal came together just as the midnight deadline arrived, and the Senate voted to pass the resolution after 2:00 am local time in Washington.
The White House stated after the deal was struck, “OMB has ceased shutdown preparations because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the president will sign the bill on Saturday.”
