Jan. 19 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Friday signed a stopgap funding resolution passed by Congress the day before, averting a government shutdown for now.
The newly approved legislation funds the government through the first days of March.
The White House said H.R. 2872, the “Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024,” funds agencies in four appropriations bills through March 1.
The remaining eight appropriations bills are funded through March 8.
The bill cleared the Senate Thursday 77-18 and was passed by the House later that day 314-108.
Congress still will have to approve full-year funding bills by March 8 to keep the federal government functioning after that time.
House Republicans were almost evenly divided over approving the funding as far-right House GOP members attempted to force Congress to accept their spending cuts agenda by threatening a government shutdown.
House Speaker Mike Johnson brought the bill to the House floor on Thursday by using a suspension of the rules to get around his own political party’s far-right members’ opposition to it.
Doing it that way meant he had to win bipartisan support of two-thirds of the House to pass it, which he was able to do.
But he is likely to face the same problem from the same GOP House faction as he tries to get the full-year funding bills through the House by March 8.
