By a vote of 75-22, the Senate approved a $467.5 billion spending package that will fund agriculture, transportation, housing, energy, veterans and other programs through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. The bill, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, now goes to President Joe Biden, who must sign it. The US House of Representatives already approved the bill on Wednesday.
Since the fiscal year started in October, a shutdown has threatened several times, resulting in federal employees not getting paid and many government services coming to a standstill. The US Congress – which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate – still has to reach an agreement on a much larger spending package that covers the military, homeland security, health care and other services. Funding for these components ends on March 22.
Last week, Congress also approved a law that prevented a partial shutdown. This concerned a transitional arrangement that expired on Friday.