Senate Strikes Deal to Vote on Spending Bill Just as Funding Expires
Source: NY Times
Senators struck a deal late Friday night to pave the way for the passage of a $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund more than half the government, with a final vote set for the early hours of Saturday morning.
The agreement, which allowed Republicans in the Senate to hold a series of politically charged votes on proposed changes, came after hours of haggling that threatened to push the government into a brief partial shutdown over the weekend. Instead, it appeared that the funding lapse, which started at midnight, would last a matter of hours and have no practical effect.
“It’s been a very long and difficult day,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said as he announced the deal. “But we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government. It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn’t easy, but our persistence has been worth it.”
The White House said that President Biden would sign the bill on Saturday and that the government had halted shutdown preparations. But the delay underscored the difficulties that have plagued spending negotiations from the beginning, and was a fitting coda to an excruciating set of talks that are on track to fund the government six months behind schedule.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/us/politics/congress-spending-bill-government-shutdown.html
Speaker Jefferies is doing a great job, without the actual title
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