Senate passes funding bundle to keep away from authorities shutdown

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The Senate handed a $460 billion bundle of spending payments to avert a partial authorities shutdown forward of the primary funding deadline Friday. 

Lawmakers spent nearly all of Friday contemplating motions associated to the slate of payments and debating the bundle following President Biden’s State of the Union tackle on Thursday night time. 

The votes have been 75-22 in favor, and the bundle now goes to Biden for him to signal.

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Payments funding Agriculture and the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) the Departments of Justice and Commerce, Power and Water Improvement, the Division of Inside, and Transportation and Housing for the rest of fiscal yr 2024 have been finally accepted by senators and can head to President Biden’s desk to be signed. 

Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters on the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photograph/J. Scott Applewhite)

Nonetheless, the higher chamber cleared the midnight shutdown deadline by solely quite a lot of hours, with a big faction of principally Republicans opposing every step of Senate process. 

On the movement to invoke cloture on the payments to restrict debate, which requires a 60-vote threshold within the physique, the chamber voted 63-35, solely narrowly avoiding a possible filibuster. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, famous on the ground that the selection of many Republicans to oppose cloture on the invoice was not as a result of they wish to see a shutdown, however as a result of they have been denied votes on a number of amendments, significantly these regarding immigration. 

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The Senate additionally struggled to determine a time settlement to shortly transfer the bundle by way of the chamber.

Sen. Rand Paul speaks through the COVID Federal Response Listening to on Capitol Hill on June 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.   (Joe Raedle)

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, supplied a “warning” to her fellow Republicans forward of the vote over their hesitance to assist the bundle. “If we don’t act at midnight tonight, we can have a partial authorities shutdown,” she stated in ground remarks. “It can have an effect on the Division of Agriculture. It can impair the work of the Meals and Drug Administration. It can forestall army development tasks from going ahead.”

HOUSE PASSES $460 BILLION GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL BLASTED BY GOP HARDLINERS

The bundle was first handed by the Home on Wednesday by a vote of 339-85.

A number of Republican senators had expressed skepticism previous to the vote, pointing to the variety of earmarks included. 

A lot of these involved Republicans joined a decision to sentence using earmarks in finances appropriations. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., held a press convention on Wednesday, throughout which they slammed the present course of for not permitting debate on varied earmarks by particular person lawmakers. 

Sen. Mike Lee speaks through the Senate Judiciary Committee markup listening to on Thursday, November 30, 2023.  (Invoice Clark)

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“The minibus spending invoice has greater than 6,600 tasks that may value taxpayers $12 billion,” Scott stated in an announcement. “This clearly isn’t about funding the federal government, it’s about funding pet tasks for politicians like Chuck Schumer.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., revealed on Wednesday his intent to vote towards the measure, with a special justification. “Buried within the appropriations invoice being voted on this week is a horrible new gun coverage rider that considerably rolls again the firearms background test system. You want to learn about this – it’s dangerous sufficient that I’ll vote towards the complete invoice,” he stated in an announcement. 

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The second funding deadline is March 22, and spending payments are nonetheless being negotiated for consideration. Payments to fund the Division of Homeland Safety and the Pentagon can be included within the second slate of appropriations measures. 

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., revealed on Wednesday his intent to vote towards the measure. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)

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Final month’s week-long stopgap funding measure grew to become the fourth of its form for the reason that preliminary appropriations invoice deadline to fund the federal government for the yr on Sept. 30.

A part of the justification amongst Home Republicans who ensured the elimination of former California Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the speakership was his failure to maintain guarantees, together with passing appropriations payments in common order. Nonetheless, newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has struggled to get funding payments handed with out using stopgap measures, particularly amid a shrinking Republican majority. 

Senate passes funding bundle to keep away from authorities shutdown

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