[Look at China, December 17, 2022]U.S. President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) signed a bill on December 16 to inject funds into the federal government for another week; Before the Congress is sworn in, the work of approving the annual fiscal expenditure of the new fiscal year is quickly completed.
Congress passed a bill in September to keep the federal government open until midnight on Friday (Dec. 16). The latest funding extension bill continues funding for federal agencies through December 23. The bill passed the Senate in a 71-19 vote Thursday night.
“Negotiations have been moving in the right direction, but we have a lot of work to do, and if we don’t extend government funding for another week, there won’t be enough time to get it done,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Chuck Schumer, urging lawmakers to support the stopgap funding bill.
The roughly $1.7 trillion budget package being negotiated will fund the day-to-day operations of government agencies in the 2023 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1. Federal government spending on programs like Social Security and Medicare is not part of the annual appropriations process and so is not included in the package.
House Republicans have overwhelmingly called for interim budget spending to be extended until early next year so they can have a bigger say in setting spending levels for federal agencies. Earlier this week, Democrats in the House of Representatives were able to advance the stopgap funding bill with little support from Republicans.
But Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, argues that the current Congress is better off passing a year-round spending bill because it would ensure a big increase in defense spending.
“If a truly bipartisan, year-round bill without the ‘poison pill’ gets final passage in the Senate late next week, I will support it in support of our armed forces,” McConnell said Wednesday . “Otherwise, we will pass a short-term continuation resolution to carry over government funding into the new year.”
Some Senate Republicans disagree with efforts to pass a formal full-year spending bill before House Republicans take power. Senator Mike Lee of Utah said he supports delaying the short-term appropriations bill until next year because it means “more Republican priorities” will be included in the final spending package.
Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the two parties are separated by about $25 billion in total spending. But lawmakers announced late on Tuesday that they had agreed on a “framework” that should allow negotiations to conclude next week.
The final budget bill is also expected to include the Biden administration’s request for an additional $37 billion in aid to Ukraine and other bipartisan priorities, including election measures aimed at preventing a repeat of the “January 6 rebellion” . The measure would make it harder for lawmakers to oppose a particular state’s electoral votes and make clear that the vice president’s constitutional role in the process of certifying electoral votes is purely executive.
(This article is based on a report by The Associated Press)
Responsible Editor: Xin He Source: Voice of America
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