Biden signs into law the stopgap funding resolution as lawmakers turn their attention to negotiating his infrastructure bill
The bill passed the House and Senate earlier in the day with a bipartisan vote.
Government funding had been set to expire at midnight, but Democratic congressional leaders, who control both chambers of Congress, had projected confidence that the government would remain open.
“Some good news — today the Senate will pass a continuing resolution that will eliminate the possibility of a government shutdown tonight,” Schumer said in floor remarks Thursday morning.
In addition to funding the government until December 3, the stopgap bill will “provide funding to help process and resettle Afghan refugees and finally deliver on critical disaster aid for Americans battered by storms and wildfires this summer,” the majority leader said.
October 18: The government reaches its borrowing limit, which could trigger a first-ever US default and a self-inflicted economic crisis if the US is unable to pay all its bills on time. It could delay federal payments, including Social Security checks and monthly child tax credit payments.
Congressional Democrats initially attempted to address the government funding issue alongside the debt limit, a strategy that was thwarted by Republicans in the Senate who have insisted that Democrats must act alone on the debt limit.
In staving off a shutdown by passing a “clean” stopgap bill, lawmakers punt the debt limit issue further down the road with another key deadline fast approaching.
Democrats do have the option to raise the debt limit on their own using a process known as budget reconciliation, but they have argued that route is too risky and would risk a default, leaving it unclear how the issue will be resolved.
This story and headline have been updated to reflect additional developments Thursday.
