US Congress approves budget bill to avert shutdown

temporary budget bill that will avert a federal government shutdown in the US has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill, which provides for funding for agencies including the US Food and Drug Administration and the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development until March 8, and for the rest of the government, including the departments of Defense (Pentagon), Homeland Security, Labor, State, Education, and Health until March 22, was passed in the US House of Representatives. In the vote held in the US House of Representatives, where Republicans hold the majority, 99 representatives voted against the bill, while 320 representatives voted in favor. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives and came to the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority, was approved there by a vote of 77 to 13. The bill, which passed Congress shortly before the expiration of the temporary budget, which provides funding for some public institutions until March 1, will be submitted to US President Joe Biden for his signature to become law. The bill, if enacted, would be the fourth interim budget to prevent the government from shutting down due to lack of funding in the 2024 fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2023. According to American law, if Congress cannot approve the permanent budget for the fiscal year that begins on October 1 and ends on September 30, the gap with the interim budgets must be closed. During periods when the interim budget cannot be approved, federal agencies that lose spending authority temporarily cease operations.