United States: Senate passes two-party law

The U.S. Senate on Thursday gave its final approval to legislation to prevent a weekend government strike, sending President Joe Biden a move designed to give bipartisan negotiators more time to negotiate an agreement to fund federal agencies until the fall.

The law will fund the government until March 11. Final approval was 65 to 27 by two votes, five more than the required 60 votes. The council passed the law easily last week. Each party decided that the election year strike would have a political impact, especially during an epidemic and the conflict with Russia over Ukraine.

Sep. Both sides hope that short-term action will be needed as negotiators draw up compromise bills financing the agencies within 30 days. Since the administration’s budget year began on October 1, federal agencies have been operating at approved levels in the final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The new spending accounts will be bilateral compromises, but they will allow Democrats controlling Biden and Congress to put another stamp on spending priorities. They should also provide the security incentives that Republicans want. In recent decades, Congress has completed its budget work months late. Avoiding being stopped by party marks has become an achievement, not a given.