U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., on March 7, 2024.
Elisabeth Franz | Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $460 billion spending bill into law on Saturday, averting a partial government shutdown that was scheduled to take effect this weekend.
The partial budget deal covers funding for six major areas of government, including the military and veterans affairs departments, agriculture, commerce, justice, transportation, housing and urban development, and energy.
The Senate approved the package Friday night in a 75-22 vote, after the House passed it earlier this week.
The agreement marks a step forward in securing a permanent budget plan for the remainder of the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Six other appropriations bills that fund other parts of the government are due March 22.
This is the fourth time this fiscal year that Congress has had to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded and avoid a government shutdown.
Democrats have been pushing to continue fully funding special food assistance programs for women, infants and children. They also won rental assistance and salaries for infrastructure workers like air traffic controllers and railroad inspectors.
Meanwhile, Republicans also framed the first half of the funding package as a victory as they declared victories on veterans’ gun ownership and cut government cuts such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Institutional funding.
—CNBC’s Rebecca Picciotto contributed reporting.
