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US government shutdown averted as funding bill clears Senate
The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just past the midnight deadline.
The United States government managed to avoid a shutdown, as the Senate work through the night to ensure the final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan funding bill to temporarily manage federal operations and disaster aid.
Earlier, the House of Representatives approved Speaker Mike Johnson's new bill by an overwhelming margin of 366-34, leaving it to the Senate to act before the midnight deadline (Saturday, 10:30 am in India) to prevent the shutdown.
The Senate voted 85-11 in the favour of the bill.
“This is a good time for the country,” Johnson, a Republican, said after the House vote, the Associated Press reported.
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Johnson added, “I have spoken with President-elect Donald Trump and he too was happy about this outcome.”
The bill now heads to outgoing President Joe Biden. The Democrat is serving his final month in office before Trump, a Republican, who lost as President four years ago, assumes office on January 20.
Biden will now sign the legislation to make it a law.
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The 118-page package will fund the US government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.
What is a US government “shutdown”?
A government “shutdown” is when the Congress doesn’t pass a legislation either to fund the government, temporarily or more permanently, and such a measure isn’t signed by the President.
What happens during a shutdown?
While federal agencies have their own plan to deal with a shutdown, government operations deemed “non-essential” cease operations, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees see their work disrupted.
Sometimes, workers are furloughed, i.e. they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens. Others may work without pay, with the expectation that they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.
