The House of Representatives has given the ‘green light’ this Friday to a bill that avoids the shutdown of Congress ensures a budget of 1.7 trillion dollars for the next fiscal year and before the inauguration of a new conformation of the Lower House, which will have a Republican majority.
The Senate passed the omnibus spending package on Thursday with 68 votes in favor to 29 against along with a one-week extension so that the bill can be properly processed and signed by U.S. President Joe Biden before the deadline, CNN reported.
The measure, which also includes nearly $45 billion in additional military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, secures the 2023 federal budget, with funding for key U.S. agencies, before the Republicans take over the lower house on January 3.
The bill made it through after the GOP introduced a last-minute amendment Wednesday on Title 42, a controversial health order by former President Donald Trump that allowed authorities to immediately remove migrants from U.S. borders.
After that, independent Krysten Sinema, representative for Arizona, and Democrat Jon Tester, for Montana, introduced another amendment in response, although both texts were ultimately rejected by the House.
The bill, with more than 4,000 pages, also includes a revision to the electoral law in an attempt to avoid another scenario similar to the one experienced during the assault on the Capitol on January 6 by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The bill also prohibits the installation of the TikTok app on federal government phones, reflecting the Biden Administration’s concerns about the role of China and social media in the United States, according to The Hill.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
