US Senate approves US$1.2 trillion budget in late-night vote

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The US Senate approved a long-awaited budget of US$1.2 trillion in the early hours of Saturday, 23 March  – just hours after the government officially ran out of money to operate.

Source: European Pravda, citing AP

By 74 votes to 24, senators in a late-night vote approved a full budget of US$1.2 trillion, which will fund government programmes until the end of the fiscal year and avert the threat of a government shutdown until mid-autumn. 

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Following this vote, the budget will be sent to US President Joe Biden for signature.

The Senate vote occurred essentially after the formal onset of the shutdown, as Democrats and Republicans reached a last-minute agreement on their positions and did not have time to vote before midnight. However, the White House immediately stated that federal agencies would not shut down operations, given the level of confidence in the imminent approval of the bill.

On Friday, concerns persisted that a shutdown might occur, as Senate amendments to the budget bill already approved by the House would necessitate a revote in the House, which had gone on a two-week break. 

Several weeks before this, a portion of the full budget was approved separately, also just hours before the deadline.

In the end, Congress approved a budget for the current fiscal year with a six-month delay. Disputes among members of Congress over various issues, particularly conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts than were acceptable to Democrats and the White House, led to this situation. As a result, Congress had to pass temporary, short-term budgets multiple times to avoid government agency and programme shutdowns.

Background:

• Media reports indicated that after the budget was approved in the House of Representatives, Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene initiated a call for the resignation of Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of giving “too much away” to President Joe Biden and the Democrats during government funding negotiations. It remains uncertain whether she will garner enough votes for her initiative.
• Earlier, Speaker Johnson stated that the bill on supplemental funding to support Ukraine would be considered in the House of Representatives once the federal government funding issue is resolved.

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