The Senate is racing the clock to pass a package of six government funding bills ahead of a shutdown deadline at the end of the day Friday.
A shutdown is not expected, but lawmakers must still lock in a time to hold a vote, which requires agreement from all 100 senators.
Once the package of funding bills passes the Senate, it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law as the House passed the measure on Wednesday. Lawmakers are up against a pair of upcoming shutdown deadlines on Friday and March 22.
The finalized package of spending bills – backed by the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers – represents a major breakthrough for lawmakers. After months of averting shutdowns at the eleventh hour with stopgap bills, Congress is now finally on the verge of passing updated legislation to fund critical government departments and agencies throughout the rest of the fiscal year. But the work isn’t over yet: Lawmakers still need to finalize and pass a second slate of funding bills prior to the March 22 deadline.
Democrats and Republicans have both claimed wins in the spending package, which includes funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.
The package will support a wide array of programs and initiatives, including hiring new air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors; medical care and benefits for veterans; and science, technology and research programs aimed at bolstering US economic competitiveness and competition specifically with China in fields including artificial intelligence.
House Republicans, who have an extremely narrow majority, passed the package on a…
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