US President Joe Biden signed the law on short-term financing. This made it possible to avoid a shutdown (suspension of the work of federal government institutions).
This is stated in the press release of the White House.
The law provides that funding for six budget bills that have not yet been approved — including trade and energy — is automatically extended until March 8. For the remaining six — including the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security — the temporary funding will last until March 22.
During this time, lawmakers can agree and pass permanent budgets for 2024. Congress has already said that it has agreed on six of the most urgent bills that will be put to a vote next week.
In the USA, since the end of the 19th century, there has been a law that prohibits the work of federal authorities if they do not have funding. A shutdown, or "closure," occurs when Congress fails to approve, and the president fails to sign, a yearʼs worth of federal funding. On the evening of September 30, the US House of Representatives voted for the first time for a project to fund the government for 45 days to avoid a shutdown. Then it was repeated several more times.
Aid from the USA
US military aid to Ukraine was exhausted at the end of 2023. Last year in October , Joe Biden submitted a request to Congress for the allocation of $106 billion, of which more than $61 billion is intended for Ukraine, mostly for the purchase of weapons from the United States. The rest of the funds from the package were intended for Israel, aid to the Asia-Pacific region, humanitarian measures in the Gaza Strip, etc.
However, the request was not approved due to political disputes. For several months, Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating a compromise bipartisan bill. In particular, the former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, called on the Republicans to sabotage the agreement, he believes that the USA needs a separate bill on borders and immigration, and it should not be tied to foreign aid in any way. Biden criticized Trump, saying that he threatened Republicans and tried to intimidate them.
After the failure of several versions of the agreement, on February 13, 2024, the US Senate supported a package bill that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but without an agreement on migration reform and border security. It must be approved by the House of Representatives, which went on vacation until February 28 without considering the document.
- The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, said that the draft law on additional funding for Ukraine will be considered when the issue with the funding of the federal government is resolved.