US Congress passes $1.2 trillion budget package

The vote was 74-24 in the US Senate. The US House of Representatives had previously passed the budget bill two weeks ago. This will help important US federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Treasury, etc. continue to have operating budgets until September 30.

Capitol, the US Congress Building. Photo: Reuters

However, the new budget bill will not include military aid packages for Ukraine or Israel, which were included in a separate bill passed by the Democratic-controlled US Senate but ignored by the Republican-majority House.

The 1,012-page budget bill would provide $886 billion for the Department of Defense, including pay raises for the U.S. military. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has said he will sign it. For the past six months, the U.S. federal government has been running largely on four short-term stopgap budget measures.

“This legislation is truly a national security bill – 70% of the funding in this package is for our national defense, including investments to strengthen our military readiness and industrial base, increase the pay and benefits of our brave service members, and support our closest allies,” said Senator Susan Rice.

The last partial shutdown of the US federal government occurred during former President Donald Trump's term, from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019; it happened when Republicans were determined to build a wall along the US-Mexico border but could not reach an agreement with Democrats.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/quoc-hoi-my-thong-qua-goi-ngan-sach-12-nghin-ty-usd-nhung-chua-co-vien-tro-cho-ukraine-post288955.html