U.S. Senate passes spending bill, averting imminent shutdown

The U.S. Senate narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown on Friday, approving spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding expires.

Senators voted 75-22 to approve a $467.5 billion spending plan that would fund agriculture, transportation, housing, energy, veterans and other programs through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The plan will go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

Funding for these projects expires at midnight.

The vote partially resolves a bitter months-long battle over government spending that briefly left the Republican-controlled House leaderless for three weeks.

“For those who worry that divided government means nothing gets done, this bipartisan package shows the opposite,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote.

The package easily passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives earlier this week. But action in the Senate was delayed as some conservative Republicans pressed for votes on immigration and other issues. They all failed.

Congress must still reach agreement on a larger spending bill covering the military, homeland security, health care and other services. Funding for these projects expires on March 22.

Together, the two options would cost $1.66 trillion. Some Republicans are pushing for further spending cuts to get the $34.5 trillion national debt under control.

All these measures were supposed to be enacted into law by October 1 last year, the start of fiscal year 2024. While Congress rarely meets deadlines, this year’s debate was unusually chaotic. So far, Congress has had to approve four temporary appropriations bills to keep agency operations at the same level as the previous year.

The spending bill includes $241.3 million in earmarks — local projects guaranteed by individual lawmakers — requested by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. She died on September 29, 2023, two days before the start of the current fiscal year.