Biden signs short-term funding bill to avert government shutdown

Washington — President Biden signed a government funding extension on Friday that delays a partial shutdown for at least another week. 

Funding for some agencies was set to lapse Friday, while the rest were funded through March 8. 

But Congress reached a deal late Wednesday on a temporary funding patch, punting the deadlines to March 8 and March 22. The measure passed in the House and Senate in a bipartisan vote, making it the fourth time since September that a shutdown has been narrowly averted. 

Under the bipartisan agreement, six of the 12 annual spending bills will now need to be passed before the end of next week. Congressional leaders said the one-week extension was necessary to allow the appropriations committees “adequate time to execute on this deal in principle” and give lawmakers time to review the package’s text. 

Congress then has two more weeks to pass the other six spending bills to fully fund the government until September. 

Mr. Biden said in a statement Thursday that the extension was “good news for the American people” but noted that “this is a short-term fix — not a long-term solution.” 

“In the days ahead, Congress must do its job and pass full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people,” he said.