Biden signs stopgap funding bill, averting government shutdown


President Biden signed a stopgap funding bill on Thursday evening, preventing a partial government shutdown that would have started on Friday morning.
The House and Senate both voted earlier in the day to approve a short-term government funding bill, which will keep federal agencies open through Dec. 3; it also includes $28.6 billion for disaster aid and $6.3 billion to help with the settlement of Afghan refugees. The Senate voted 65-35 to pass the bill, more than the 60 votes necessary, while the House approved it 254-175.
"There's so much more to do," Biden said in a statement. "But the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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