The head of state signed the law about half an hour before the end of the limit set in the North American Constitution that would have led to a government shutdown that would have started at midnight (5 a.m. in Lisbon).
In a statement, Biden stressed that “an unnecessary crisis that would have caused unnecessary suffering to millions of American workers” was avoided.
“This bill ensures that activeduty troops continue to be paid, that travelers avoid airport delays, that millions of women and children continue to have access to vital nutritional assistance, and much more,” the president said.
“We should never have been in this situation,” lamented the head of state, recalling that months ago he had reached a budget agreement with the leader of the Republican majority in the lower house of parliament, Kevin McCarthy, “to avoid precisely such problems.” manufactured crisis”.
“Extremist Republicans in the House of Representatives for weeks [de Representantes] tried to withdraw from that agreement and demanded drastic cuts that would have had devastating consequences for millions of Americans. They have failed,” Biden said.
Regarding aid to Ukraine, the president argued that “the overwhelming majority of Congress steadfastly supports the country.”
“We cannot allow American support for Ukraine to stop under any circumstances,” Biden said.
The head of state called on McCarthy to “remain true to his commitment to the Ukrainian people and ensure that the necessary assistance to support Ukraine at this critical time is approved.”
Congress will debate another bill to provide $24 billion (22.7 billion euros) in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, which Biden wanted to include in the budget.
A vote could take place early next week, according to the North American press.
Hardline conservatives like Matt Gaetz strongly opposed including aid to Ukraine in the deal, despite support from moderate Republicans including McCarthy.
Biden approved the law shortly after the proposal was, as expected, easily approved with 88 yes and nine no votes in the Senate, the upper house of the US Parliament, where Democrats supporting the Biden administration have the majority.
The law, which keeps the US government running until November 17th, provides aid worth 16 billion US dollars (15.1 billion euros) for “the disasters in Florida, the terrible fire in Hawaii and also the disasters in California and Vermont”.
Also read: Biden and Trump are early advocates for the “free ride” of the automotive sector
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