President Biden Approves Interim Funding Measure, Deferring Budget Conflict to Next Year

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On Thursday, President Joe Biden enacted an interim funding bill, just a day ahead of a potential government shutdown deadline. This move postpones a looming budgetary confrontation with Republican members of Congress into the upcoming year. The bill’s passage, which occurred with strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate earlier this week, ensures that government operations will continue beyond the holiday season. This development may provide legislators additional time to reconcile significant disagreements regarding the government’s spending levels for the current fiscal year. President Biden signed the legislation in San Francisco amidst hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The announcement of the bill’s signing was made late in the evening following a dinner event for APEC delegates.

The current legislation maintains government funding at existing levels for about two more months, buying time for the negotiation of a comprehensive funding package. It establishes two separate deadlines for the passage of full-year budget bills: January 19 for certain federal departments and February 2 for others. This bifurcated deadline approach introduces the possibility of partial government shutdowns at these two junctures.

The strategy of dividing the appropriations deadlines was primarily advocated by the newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican. Despite not being widely favored in the Senate, the bill garnered support from all Democrats except one and 10 Republican senators, primarily to avoid an immediate government shutdown.

Speaker Johnson has declared his opposition to any further interim funding measures, also known as continuing resolutions, and has described the current bill as a precursor to a budgetary “battle” with the Senate in the forthcoming year.

Notably, the funding bill does not address the nearly $106 billion request from the White House intended for wartime assistance to Israel and Ukraine. It also omits humanitarian aid for Palestinians and other supplementary funding requests, including those for border security. After the Thanksgiving break, legislators are expected to focus more intensively on these issues, aiming to negotiate a resolution.

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This report includes contributions from AP journalists Stephen Groves and Zeke Miller in Washington.

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• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit