Biden Signs $1.2 Trillion Government Funding Package

President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion funding package that keeps the US government open through September 30. The legislation was hailed by Biden as "good news for the American people" and as a compromise.

"This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted," Biden said in a statement. "But it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border that my Administration successfully fought to include," reported ABC News.

He further added, "Congress's work isn't finished. It's time to get this done."

The House passed the package on Friday, and the Senate passed it early Saturday morning.

While The House passed the legislation with a bipartisan 286-134 vote, the Senate passed it in a 74-24 vote.

According to The Hill, although the bill was signed by the president after Friday's deadline at midnight, the Office of Management and Budget stopped preparing for a shutdown as soon as it became apparent that Biden would soon receive the bill.

The funding package maintains flat domestic spending overall but increases defense appropriations by 3%. For the first half of the federal fiscal year, the federal government was funded by temporary spending measures.

This law represents the second phase of a two-phase government funding scheme. Funding was provided for the Food and Drug Administration, military construction, the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and other federal programs by a different six-bill funding package that was signed into law earlier this month.

Amid this legislative frenzy, another contentious issue looms large in Congress. Leaders urgently press for the swift approval of a $95 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.