Government shutdown 2022: Senate passes stopgap budget bill, which moves to House next!

Washington – The Senate passed a short-term spending bill Thursday that would avoid a partial government shutdown when the current fiscal year ends at midnight Friday, and provide another boost in military and economic aid to Ukraine as it seeks to fend off a brutal Russian invasion.

The bill funds the federal government through December 16 and buys lawmakers more time to agree on legislation setting spending levels for fiscal year 2023. It passed 72-25 and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. All “no” votes came from Republicans.

As it became routine, lawmakers waited until the last hours before a shutdown deadline to act. But the passage of a government funding bill was not in doubt, especially after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin agreed to drop provisions designed to simplify the permitting process for energy projects and give the green light for approval of a pipeline in his home state of West Virginia. These provisions were met with opposition from both sides of the political milieu.

However, the bill delays for a few months the maneuvers that would be required after the midterms to pass a massive government funding package, as negotiators will have to iron out their differences over spending on hot issues like abortion and border security. and climate change.

The bill approved Thursday, with some exceptions, keeps spending at federal agencies at current levels through mid-December. The most notable of these exceptions is the more than $12 billion that will be provided to help Ukraine, in addition to the more than $50 billion provided in two previous bills. The money will go to provide training, equipment, and logistical support for the Ukrainian military, help the Ukrainian government provide essential services to its citizens and refurbish US weapons and munitions systems.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. But the battle is not over yet.”

Republican leader Mitch McConnell has also expressed support for the Ukrainian aid, while urging the Biden administration to get it out more quickly.

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“Helping Ukraine is not a comforting symbolic gesture,” McConnell said. “It is literally an investment in our national security and the security of our allies.”

Disaster assistance was attached to the temporary bill, including $2.5 billion to help New Mexico communities recover from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in state history; $2 billion for a group grant program that helps economic recovery of communities affected by recent disasters and $20 million for water and sanitation infrastructure improvements previously approved for Jackson, Mississippi.

An additional $18.8 billion is included for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to current and future disasters, such as Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida on Wednesday.

The bill would provide an additional $1 billion for a program that helps low-income families heat their homes. It will transfer $3 billion from the Pentagon’s aid program to the State Department for continued Afghan resettlement operations.

The lawmakers also included a reauthorization of the FDA’s five-year user fee agreements, ensuring the agency can continue critical product safety reviews and won’t need to issue pink coupons to thousands of employees working on drug applications and medical devices.

The only thing missing in the bill is billions of dollars in additional funding that President Joe Biden has sought to help respond to COVID-19 and the Jedi monkeys. Republicans have criticized health spending as unnecessary. The White House said the money would have been used to accelerate research and development of vaccines and treatments, prepare for future COVID variants and support the global response.

Passing the bill is the last item on the slate of lawmakers before returning to their home states and counties to campaign ahead of the midterm elections that will determine which party controls the House and Senate for the next two years. Lawmakers have been eager to get out of Washington and focus on campaigning without the specter of a shutdown.

“The last thing the American people need right now is a pointless government shutdown,” Schumer said.

Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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