President Biden signed a stopgap short term funding bill on Friday
The Funding Bill was in Oblivion Even After it Proceeds at the House Table
The Congress acted to prevent a shutdown Thursday evening when both chambers voted to pass a stopgap bill to extend funding through the midst of February after party leaders brokered a deal to overcome Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. The final tally in the Senate was 69-28.
Hence, the bill funds government operations through Feb. 18, therefore lawmakers will need to work on another appropriations bill early in the new year.
The funding bill was in limbo even after it proceeds from the House table almost completely along with other party lines on Thursday afternoon, amid a standoff between 50/50 groups of Republican senators and others in the Senate over their push to use the bill to defund Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private businesses with at least 100 employees.
The deadlock was resolved when Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) okayed to demands from conservatives to grip a vote on an amendment to defund Biden’s vaccine mandate, which has already been held up in court due to legal challenges. The legislation is unlikely to become law even if the vote passes the Senate, it would need to pass the Democratic-controlled House, and even then Biden could turn down it.
Other Republican Senators Fuming Over a Possible Shutdown
