Biden Signs Bill to Avert October Federal Shutdown, Fund Government Through Dec. 3
President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday evening to avert a government shutdown in October, moving the key date back by more than a month.
His signature on the continuing budget resolution comes several hours after the House voted 254-175 to pass the measure. Democrats had hoped to pass a massive $3.5 trillion spending plan that has been delayed by moderate Democratic holdouts, particularly in the Senate, where Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) and particularly Joe Manchin (WV) have expressed reservations about voting for the plan put forward by House Democrats. Manchin said Thursday he would support a plan for $1.5 trillion in spending, $2 trillion less than the number sought by Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
The resolution passed on Thursday will give lawmakers until Dec. 3 to pass a budget for the next fiscal year before the federal government defaults, an extension from the Oct. 18 deadline they had been facing.
Biden confirmed he had signed the bill in a post on his Twitter account, touting how the bill “funds critical needs like our COVID-19 response, resettling our Afghan allies, and disaster assistance — and gives us more time to pass longer-term funding and deliver for the American people.”
Tonight I signed the continuing resolution to fund our government through December. It funds critical needs like our COVID-19 response, resettling our Afghan allies, and disaster assistance — and gives us more time to pass longer-term funding and deliver for the American people. pic.twitter.com/sUCtKugVto
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 30, 2021
Watch above via PBS.
