Congress passes government funding bill, hours before deadline

KEY POINTS 

-- Congress passes the government funding bill hours before the partial government shutdown deadline

-- Senate approved the legislation in a 65-35 vote

-- The House passed the bill by a 254-175 margin

The U.S. Congress passed the government funding bill, sending it to President Biden, hours before the deadline, in a bid to avert a partial government shutdown.

The Senate and House passed a short-term appropriations bill on Wednesday that would keep the government running through December 3. The U.S. will avoid a lapse in funding once President Joe Biden signs it into law.

The Senate approved the legislation in a 65-35 vote, as 15 Republicans joined all 50 Democrats. The House passed the bill by a 254-175 margin as 34 GOP representatives and every Democrat supported it.

WHAT IS THE FUNDING BILL

The short-term appropriations bill would provide aid of $6.3 billion to Afghan refugees resettling in the U.S. and $28.6 billion to help communities rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires, and other recent natural disasters.

Under the legislation, the federal government would be funded through December 3, giving lawmakers more time to arrive at a consensus over other bills that dictate federal spending.

BONE OF CONTENTION

The Democrats had initially attached a provision to suspend the debt ceiling along with the funding bill, but Republicans refused to vote to increase the government’s borrowing limit. 

The Republicans blocked the initial funding package on Monday, refusing to give the majority party any of the votes needed to move ahead on a bill to avert a first-ever federal default in the coming weeks.

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount that the U.S. government can borrow by issuing bonds. The Treasury Department needs to pay its expenses through other ways, when the debt ceiling is reached, otherwise, there is a risk the U.S. will default on its debt.

In such a scenario, the U.S. credit ratings will fall due to the failure to pay interest to bondholders, increasing the cost of debt.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warning that Congress has under three weeks to address the looming debt ceiling and avoid near-certain economic disaster.

CRISIS AVERTED

Wall Street Journal reported that even a brief shutdown would trigger furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, but critical functions like border security, benefits checks, and airport operations would continue.

Earlier this month, the Office of Management and Budget began preparing for a potential lapse in funding.

The new amendments to the bill pushed forth by the Republicans limited Afghan evacuees’ eligibility for government benefits, prevent federal funds from being used for COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and cut lawmakers’ pay if they don’t approve spending legislation on time. Each of the measures failed.

(With inputs from Wall Street Journal)