The U.S. Senate has averted the imminent threat of a partial government shutdown by passing a temporary spending bill and sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature to make it law before a deadline early next week. The vote on Wednesday in favor of the bill passed with an overwhelming majority of 87 to 11, concluding the third funding confrontation this year in Congress, which had pushed U.S. lawmakers to the brink of defaulting on over $31 trillion in debt earlier this spring and twice before a partial shutdown that would have impacted the paychecks of about four million federal employees.
The last near-shutdown resulted in the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, on October 3, leaving the House without leadership for three weeks. However, lawmakers have now secured a bit more than two months of leeway, with the next deadline set for January 19. The legislation will extend funding for various sectors of the federal government until that date and for some agencies until February 2. Ongoing disputes over funding have hindered lawmakers from acting on other proposals, such as Biden's request for $106 billion in aid for Israel and Ukraine, as well as U.S. border security.
