Biden Signs $460B Funding Package, Averts Shutdown

Facts

• Pres. Joe Biden signed a package of six spending bills into law on Saturday to fund crucial federal departments and agencies through the rest of the fiscal year, just in time to prevent a partial government shutdown.¹
• This comes after the Senate passed the $460B funding package, 75 to 22, on Friday after a motion to limit debate on the bills narrowly reached the 60-vote threshold to avoid a potential filibuster.²
• On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved the spending bill 339 to 85 to maintain existing funding levels for several departments, including Agriculture and Justice, until Sept. 30.³
• However, a much bigger second spending package to fund nearly 70% of the government, including the military and health departments, must be negotiated before another shutdown deadline of March 22.⁴
• The two packages, which should have been enacted into law at the start of the 2024 fiscal year last October, would cost $1.6T. The US national debt now stands at $34.5T.⁵
• Since the end of fiscal year 2023, the federal government has been operating on stopgap funding bills as leaders of the House and Senate couldn't reach a broad agreement on spending levels.⁶

Sources: ¹CNN, ²FOX News, ³New York Post, ⁴POLITICO, ⁵Reuters and ⁶WSJ.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times. The threat of a government shutdown has yet again been postponed with an 11th-hour bill, but this all-too-usual fiscal drama isn't without consequences. Rating firms have downgraded US government debt, costing taxpayers higher interest rates and affecting faith in governance. These self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives — who allowed the debt to grow by $8T under Trump — have made budget brinkmanship a routine whenever a Democrat is in the White House.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Washington Examiner. While a government shutdown has been averted for now, it's only a temporary fix that doesn't address the core issue — the US is sitting on an unsustainable amount of debt. Before this accomplishment is celebrated, it should be noted this will do little more than push the deadline back and see across-the-aisle clashes and GOP infighting postponed until, at best, fiscal year 2025. This isn't a win.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by The Federalist. America has been facing the threat of government shutdowns every year in a bipartisan brinkmanship theater that only favors those seeking to increase public expenditure in last-minute budget-busting omnibus bills. Unfortunately, most lawmakers would vote yes on anything to avoid a shutdown, which is why the fiscally irresponsible always win. Legislation must be changed to automatically maintain current spending levels during deadlocks until the enactment of new appropriations bills.

Predictions