WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday approved a short-term budget plan that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the current fiscal year ends at midnight on Friday and provide Ukraine another boost of economic and military aid as it fights Russia’s ruthless invasion.
The resolution offers Congress extra time to come to an agreement on legislation setting spending levels for the fiscal year 2023. It funds the federal government through December 16th.
It was approved by a majority of 72–25 and will now be considered by the House. Republican voters cast all of the negative votes.
As has become customary, lawmakers didn’t take any action until just before the shutdown deadline. But it was clear that a bill funding the government would pass, especially after Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin agreed to abandon provisions meant to speed up the licencing of energy projects and support a pipeline in his native West Virginia.
Both major parties had voiced resistance to those clauses.
The bill only delays for a few months the negotiations that will be necessary to pass a significant government funding package after the midterm elections because negotiators will then need to resolve their differences over funding for contentious issues like abortion, border security, and climate change.
With a few exceptions, the package passed on Thursday maintains current federal agency spending levels through mid-December. The largest of these exclusions is the additional $12 billion that would be given to Ukraine in aid on top of the $50 billion that was already allocated in two earlier bills. The funds will be used to restock U.S. supplies, assist the Ukrainian government in providing basic services to its inhabitants, and train, equip, and support logistics for the country’s military. S.
weaponry and ammunition systems.
According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, “seven months after the crisis began, it’s quite evident that American assistance has gone a long way to helping the Ukrainian people fight (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s terrible, brutal aggression.” “However, the battle is far from done. ”
Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party, likewise expressed support for the funding for Ukraine while urging the Biden administration to expedite its delivery.
Helping Ukraine is not just a sentimental act, according to McConnell. It’s a direct investment in our allies’ and our own national security. ”
$2 in disaster relief was included in the interim package.
$5 billion will be used to aid communities in New Mexico in recovering from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the biggest wildfire in the history of the state; $2 billion will go toward a block grant programme that helps communities recover economically from recent disasters; and $20 million will be used to upgrade the water and wastewater infrastructure that was previously approved for Jackson, Mississippi.
a further $18.
For the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to existing and upcoming disasters, including Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida on Wednesday, $8 billion was included.
The plan would add $1 billion to a programme that assists low-income people with home heating costs. In addition, the State Department would receive $3 billion from a Pentagon aid programme to continue its Afghan resettlement efforts.
The Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements were also renewed by lawmakers for a further five years, ensuring that the agency can continue its vital product safety inspections and preventing the need to fire thousands of personnel who work on drug and medical device applications.
The billions of dollars in additional funds that President Joe Biden requested to support the response to COVID-19 and monkeypox is one thing that is absent from the bill.
The health spending was attacked by Republicans as being unneeded. The money, according to the White House, would have been used to support the worldwide response, speed the development of vaccines and medicines, and get ready for potential COVID variations in the future.
The passing of the bill is the final thing that needs to be done before members head back to their home districts and states to run for office ahead of the midterm elections that will determine which party will control the House and Senate for the following two years.
The threat of a government shutdown made lawmakers eager to leave Washington and concentrate on the election season.
A senseless government shutdown is the absolute last thing the American people need right now, according to Schumer. .
Senate adopts temporary measure to avoid shutdown and help Ukraine
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