Congress has voted again to avert a partial government shutdown by passing another short stopgap spending measure, the fourth such bill since October. The extension gives him more time to resolve spending differences that would remain until Sept. 30, the end of the 2024 fiscal year.
President Joe Biden signed the spending measure into law on March 1.
Continuous resolution, or CR, has two endpoints. For eight of the 12 individual agency credit accounts, the new deadline is March 8; the rest is March 22.
Most federal construction programs are under the March 8 deadline, including those at the Department of Transportation and most of the Department of Energy, as well as military construction and civil works for the Army Corps of Engineers of the USA.
The March 22 deadline applies to programs such as the construction of federal General Services Administration buildings and the construction of State Department embassies.
Final congressional approval came on February 29, when the Senate approved the CR by a vote of 77 to 13, sending it to the White House. The House had passed it earlier, 320 to 99.
The congressional vote is “good news for the American people,” Biden said in a statement. “But I want to be clear: this is a short-term solution, not a long-term solution.
In the coming days, Congress must do its job and pass year-round funding bills that deliver to the American people.”
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement before the vote: “I’m very pleased that we have a clear consensus that no one wants to see a government shutdown and that prevent- ne will now require a very short period. CR so that we can continue to make good progress on our full-year funding bills.”
Congressional negotiators are “really close” to an agreement on spending bills that would extend through fiscal year 2024, he said.
“I’ve been at the table for a long time, pushing to move forward every day, and we’re really close,” Murray added. “If bipartisan cooperation prevails, I am very confident that we will finally be able to close out our fiscal year 24. bills.”
Story updated March 1; Corrected story to indicate that eight of the 12 annual credits are subject to the March 8 deadline.
