After a government shutdown was averted late Friday into Saturday morning, the House and Senate passed a funding bill to Biden.
A first bipartisan deal was scuppered earlier this week by President-elect Donald Trump and his associate Elon Musk. Then on Thursday night the House rejected a new version of the bill which included Trump’s bombshell that the debt ceiling must also be raised.
As per the proposal, the 118-page bill enshrines most of the measures that were adopted in the bipartisan bill that was passed on Wednesday. The bill also contains $100 billion for disaster relief, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill which were the most contentious before this week’s votes.
Senate Passes The Short Term Government Funding Bill
The Senate passed the House-approved measure to fund the government through September in a vote that came just after midnight, 85 to 11.
The legislation will continue the government funding until March 14. It offers $100 billion for disaster relief, $30 billion for farmers and one year extension of the farm bill.
The gavel technically fell in the Senate at 12:38, which means that Congress passed the legislation just 38 minutes past its midnight deadline to avoid a shutdown.
President Joe Biden has yet to sign the bill into law, but a shutdown has for all practical purposes been prevented and no actual concrete consequences of it will be experienced in the time between now and when Biden signs the bill.
Prior to the voting process, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed his appreciation to the Senate for having produced this bill.
“Tonight the Senate delivers good news for America: “But there will be no government shutdown right before Christmas,” Schumer said. “
He described the legislation as a “good bill”.
“It is a good outcome for America and the American people,” Schumer said.
The approval of the passage of the short-term funding bill signals the last days of the 118th Congress. The Senate will now adjourn for the holidays and reconvene on January 3, 2025, at which time the 119th Congress will convene.
Senate Has Plan To Pass Funding Bill Before Midnight Deadline: Schumer
The Senate is, after several hours of ‘standstill’ debate, set to start a series of votes that will definitely culminate in the approval of the House-approved short-term continuing resolution.
“I have very good news for my colleagues and the country: Democrats and Republicans have only agreed on what will enable us to pass the CR tonight before the midnight deadline,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor.
The Senate was first voting on a string of changes to the Social Security Fairness Act, legislation that would increase Social Security benefits for millions of public service employees who also receive pensions.
Passage of the short-term funding was to be the last vote on Friday evening.
Before The Senate Votes On A Shutdown Bill, It Passes A Funding Bill For Pediatric Cancer Research
Shortly before the expected late Friday vote on a measure to fund the federal government through September, senators voted unanimously to reinstate some of the funding for pediatric cancer research that was left out of the House version of the stopgap funding bill.
Since President-elect Donald Trump played a role in the failure of the initial bipartisan funding deal in the House, Democrats have protested that a measure to reauthorize National Institutes of Health funding for pediatric cancer had been stripped.
But it appears that a clean version of that bill – although with less cash – has been waiting for the Senate since the House approved it in March.
On Thursday night, and before passing the short-term CR bill, the Senate passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 unanimously.
The bill extends a pediatric disease research program at NIH through fiscal 2028 and mandates the agency to synchronize pediatric research activities to prevent redundancy.
The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Republican Representatives Jennifer Wexton.
Jeffries Describes Funding Bill Passing As A Victory
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries described the government funding bill as a victory for the American people during a speech after the vote.
“House Democrats have managed to block the billionaire Boys Club who sought a $4 trillion blank check by suspending the debt ceiling in order to let them slash Social Security, slash Medicare and slash nutritional aid for the needy while giving tax cuts to the rich, the affluent and the privileged,” he said.
Schumer Sure That Senate Will Approve The Government Funding Bill
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he believes that the Senate will pass the government funding bill.
”The House has passed a bill to fund the government through the next fiscal year and I am sure the Senate will do the same,” he said. “We hope to get it passed as soon as possible.”
It is still unknown when the vote will be held. If the vote is on Saturday, then there is no government funding from midnight and as it is a weekend the effects of a shutdown would not be severe.
‘While this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families — emergency aid for communities devastated by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep the government open with no drastic spending cuts,’ he continued. ‘As I have said, the only way to keep the government open is through bipartisanship.’
Johnson Said That The House Will Consider The Debt Limit In January
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that the House will work on the debt limit “early in January.”
When asked if he still wants to be the speaker, Johnson took sometime before he said he enjoys the challenging role of leadership.
Speaking for the House is not easy in this modern world, but it is a task that we take. I consider it a privilege to be in the position. I wouldn’t say that it is the most entertaining job that one can ever have all the time but it is a very relevant job. He said it is a very significant time for the country.
Johnson Hails Passage Of Funding Bill, Calls On Senate To Pass It Without Delay
We are really grateful that tonight, in bipartisan fashion with over 400 votes we passed the American Relief Act of 2025. This is a very important piece of legislation,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the bill is “a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending for 2025.” We also in this bill as you are aware provided for Americans who are in dire need of and who deserve the help.
“We also look after our farmers many of whom were on the edge of going under because of Bidenomics let’s be frank because the inflationary cost of their inputs,” he continued.
Voting Officially Closes, Democrats Vote Affirmatively
Republicans and Democrats joined hands on Friday evening to approve a temporary measure to fund the government through March 14.
The final vote was 366-34-1, which was way above the required two-thirds majority vote for passage under suspension of the rules.
Every Democrat supported the measure while 34 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat voted “present.”
The bill now goes to the Senate with roughly six hours to go before tonight’s deadline.
Biden Supports Funding Bill
According to the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, President Joe Biden has endorsed the funding bill that House is currently voting on.
The president “stands for advancing this legislation and for guaranteeing that the essential services the government delivers for the American people – paying Social Security checks, processing benefits for veterans, and so on – can continue as well as to provide aid for the communities affected by the catastrophic hurricanes,” she said in a statement.
Jean-Pierre also said that while the bill “does not include everything we wanted,” it does “fund the government through December, provide disaster relief for those affected by disasters earlier this year, and close the loophole that allows wealthy people to pay less tax than their employees.”
She blamed President-elect Donald Trump for the last minute rush.
House Passes Bill To Prevent Government Shutdown
The House of Representatives approved the two-thirds majority to pass the funding bill to avert a federal shutdown tonight. The measure, which provides the government funding through March, will go to the Senate.
Musk Endorses Funding Deal
Tesla CEO and billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk tweeted on X that he approves of the current funding plan that is up for a vote.
“The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces. Ball should now be in the Dem court,” said Musk, who threatened GOP members two days ago.
