Biden signs temporary funding bill to avert US government shutdown before election

Washington, Sep 27: US President Joe Biden has signed a three-month government funding bill, averting an imminent shutdown and delaying a fuller conversation about government spending until after the November elections.

The stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, will extend government funding until December 20.

It will also provide an additional $231m for the Secret Service "for operations necessary to carry out protective operations, including the 2024 presidential campaign and national special security events," following the two recent assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.

Biden's signing of the bill came one day after the House and Senate passed the legislation with sweeping bipartisan majorities in both chambers.

"The passage of this bill gives Congress more time to pass full-year funding bills by the end of this year," Biden said on Wednesday.

"My administration will work with Congress to ensure these bills deliver for America's national defence, veterans, seniors, children and working families, and address urgent needs for the American people, including communities recovering from disasters."

The Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, had initially tried to pass a more right-wing proposal that combined a six-month stopgap funding measure with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) Act, a controversial proposal that would require people to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

That effort failed last week, when 14 Republicans and all but two Democrats opposed Johnson's bill. The failure forced Johnson to take up a three-month spending bill that was narrow enough to win Democrats' support. The House passed that bill on Wednesday in a vote of 341 to 82, with all of the opposition to the legislation stemming from Republicans.

"Our legislative work before November has now been officially done, and today the House did the necessary thing," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.

"We took the initiative and passed a clean, narrow, three-month CR to prevent the Senate from jamming us with another bloated bill while continuing resolutions."

Johnson nodded at the widespread opposition to the bill within his conference, as 82 Republicans voted against it amid complaints of wasteful government spending.

"While a continuing resolution is never ideal -- none of us like them; that's not a way to run a railroad -- it allows Congress to continue serving the American people through the election," Johnson said.

Once the House passed the continuing resolution on Wednesday noon, the Senate moved immediately to take up the bill. The Upper Chamber passed the bill just two hours after the House did in a bipartisan vote of 78 to 18.

The Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, thanked Johnson for his work to avoid a shutdown, but he lamented that it took Congress until the last minute to pass a funding package when it seemed evident for weeks that a narrow stopgap would be necessary.

"Tonight the American people can sleep easier knowing we have avoided an unnecessary government shutdown at the end of the month," Schumer said before the vote.

"It is a relief for the country that, once again, bipartisanship prevailed to stop another shutdown threat. It took much longer than it should have, but because House Republicans finally, finally chose to work with us in the end, Congress is getting the job done tonight."

Schumer had previously blamed Donald Trump for the delay, as the former President had implored Republican lawmakers to reject any funding bill unless it was tied to "election security" measures. The newly signed bill did not meet that demand, but Johnson insisted that Trump backed Republicans' efforts to keep the government funded.

"Former President Trump understands the current dilemma and the situation that we're in," Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.

"So we'll continue working closely together. I'm not defying President Trump. We're getting our job done, and I think he understands that."

Both Chambers of Congress now stand adjourned for six weeks, meaning members will not return to Capitol Hill until after election day. Johnson's decision to rely on Democratic support to pass the funding package has raised questions about his future as Speaker, but he voiced confidence on Wednesday about his leadership and his party's prospects for expanding its narrow House majority.

"I would be a fool to project a certain number of seats, but let me just say I'm very optimistic," Johnson told reporters.

"I believe we're going to hold the House. And I intend to be the Speaker in the new Congress."