Senate narrowly averted a partial government shutdown on Friday, as the chamber approved spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding was due to expire.
State of the union: ‘Sleepy Joe’ nowhere in evidence as canny, well-versed Biden outlines vision in blistering speech“To folks who worry that divided government means nothing ever gets done, this bipartisan package says otherwise,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. Congress must still work out a deal on a much larger package of spending bills, covering the military, homeland security, healthcare and other services. Funding for those programs expires on March 22nd.
All these measures were supposed to have been enacted into law by last October 1st, the start of the 2024 fiscal year. While Congress rarely meets that deadline, the debate this year has been unusually chaotic. Congress so far has had to approve four temporary funding bills to keep agency operations limping along at their previous year’s levels.