The Senate approved a slimmed-down temporary government spending plan early Saturday, averting a federal government shutdown.
President Joe Biden signed the bill yesterday, ending a chaotic week at the Capitol.
President-elect Donald Trump scrapped the first bipartisan deal they struck earlier in the week, forcing lawmakers to scramble to reach a new deal. A House vote on the funding bill approved by President Trump failed Thursday night, and the House ultimately approved amendments Friday night.
The bill would fund the government through March 14, setting up another spending showdown in the early days of the Trump administration. Republican lawmakers ultimately ignored Trump’s key demands.
Other details of the bill include:
• Expanded disaster relief funding: The spending bill sets aside approximately $100 billion in 2023 and 2024 to help Americans recover from multiple natural disasters. The funding is in line with a request totaling about $100 billion that the Biden administration issued in November.
• Economic aid for farmers: The bill includes $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, one of the final hurdles in negotiations earlier this week. Lawmakers from agriculture-focused states argued that aid is desperately needed as American farmers face falling commodity prices and rising costs of supplies.
The spending deal also includes a one-year extension of the Farm Bill, a comprehensive package that governs many agricultural and nutrition assistance programs.
• Maryland Bridge Funding: Under this bill, the replacement of Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge would be fully funded by the federal government. The bill would also allow the U.S. Treasury to collect settlement funds related to bridge collapses and use them to pay for reconstruction.
And here’s what didn’t work:
• Debt ceiling extension: The Republican package that failed on Thursday would suspend the debt ceiling until January 30, 2027, meeting President Trump’s key demand for breaking the original deal on Wednesday. It was supposed to be. Instead, Republicans are considering including a debt ceiling increase in future policy next year.
The debt ceiling is currently scheduled to be reinstated on January 2nd. The debt ceiling was suspended as part of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act passed by Congress in June 2023. Lawmakers will likely have until mid-2025 to address the debt ceiling, as the Treasury Department may modify it. The government will take steps, including temporarily using cash on hand, to continue paying its citizens’ bills and avoid a first-ever debt default.
Republicans will take control of Capitol Hill and the White House next year, but when they do, having to address the debt ceiling will add to their already overwhelming agenda, including an extension of President Trump’s massive 2017 tax cuts. would add further complexity to the problem.
For more information on the bill, including other priorities that did not reach consideration, please click here.
