The House passed emergency spending legislation that will avert a partial government shutdown, at least for now.
The legislation, sent to President Joe Biden for his immediate signature, will fund the federal government until Dec. 3, providing lawmakers with an additional two months to agree on a fiscal 2022 spending package. The Senate passed the government funding measure earlier Thursday.
The measure does not address a looming deadline for increasing the nation’s borrowing limit, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned must be lifted by Oct. 18 to avoid the United States defaulting on loans.
Democrats were forced to remove a debt limit increase from the emergency funding bill after Republicans blocked it. The GOP said they would not support raising the borrowing limit because Democrats plan to ram through a massive social welfare spending package that could cost as much as $3.5 trillion.
Democrats have less than three weeks to figure out how to pass a debt limit increase unilaterally unless they can find a way to lure in GOP votes.
Republicans have unanimously opposed the debt limit increase.
Thursday’s government funding bill provides $28.6 billion for states damaged by wildfires and summer storms, as well as $6.3 billion to help resettle Afghan refugees who fled their country when the United States withdrew military forces in August. Democrats had to strip out $1 billion in emergency funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system after a group of liberal Democrats objected. House Democrats introduced a separate emergency bill to fund Iron Dome.
