US, shutdown averted: Senate approves $1.2 trillion package

The US Senate passed a funding bill in a rare show of bipartisan unity to avert a shutdown of several key federal agencies until September and thus avert a partial government shutdown. The Senate had missed Friday's midnight deadline to vote on the bill, but voted in the early hours of Saturday to pass the resolution that had already received the green light from the House.

US Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, announced shortly before midnight local time, about 5 a.m. Italian time this morning, that he had reached an agreement to approve a $1.2 trillion spending package and avoid a shutdown. "It's been a very long and difficult day, but we just reached an agreement to complete the government's funding work," Schumer said. "It's good for the country to have reached this bipartisan agreement. It was not easy, but tonight our perseverance was worth it," he added. A couple of hours later the Senate approved the $1.2 trillion package and the government funding bill now passes to US President Joe Biden for his signature. The text was approved with 74 votes in favour and 24 against.

Funding for government agencies had expired at midnight, but the White House sent a notice shortly after the deadline announcing that the Office of Management and Budget had halted preparations for the shutdown because there was a high degree of confidence that Congress would pass the bill and President Biden would sign it into law on Saturday. The prospects of a short-term government shutdown had seemed to increase on Friday night after Republicans and Democrats clashed over proposed amendments to the bill. Any amendments passed in the Senate would have sent the bill back to the House, which had already begun a two-week recess.