President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills after Congress had passed the long overdue legislation just hours earlier, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown.
The White House said Biden signed the legislation at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was spending the weekend. It had cleared the Senate by a 74-24 vote shortly after funding had expired for the agencies at midnight. When combining the two packages, discretionary spending for the budget year will come to about $1.66 trillion. That does not include programs such as Social Security and Medicare, or financing the country's rising debt.
Democrats are boasting of a $1 billion increase for Head Start programs and new childcare centers for military families. They also played up a $120 million increase in funding for cancer research and a $100 million increase for Alzheimer's research. "It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn't easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it," Schumer said.