Biden signs spending bills passed by Congress just before deadline
Newsy
The vote Friday night gets lawmakers about halfway home in wrapping up their appropriations work for this budget year.
President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a $460 billion package of spending bills approved by the Senate in time to avoid a shutdown of many key federal agencies. The legislation's success gets lawmakers about halfway home in wrapping up their appropriations work for the 2024 budget year.
The measure contains six annual spending bills and had already passed the House. In signing it into law, Biden thanked leaders and negotiators from both parties in both chambers for their work, which the White House said will mean that agencies "may continue their normal operations."
Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating a second package of six bills, including defense, in an effort to have all federal agencies fully funded by a March 22 deadline.
"To folks who worry that divided government means nothing ever gets done, this bipartisan package says otherwise," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after lawmakers passed the measure Friday night just hours before a deadline.
He said the bill's passage would allow for the hiring of more air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors, give federal firefighters a raise and boost support for homeless veterans, among other things.
