(ProsperNews.net) – Congress has narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a $1.2 trillion spending bill over the weekend of March 23, but it was not without controversy. In the House of Representatives, House Speaker Mike Johnson broke the Hastert rule by passing the legislation despite objections from fellow Republicans. This prompted Georgia firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene to file a motion to vacate the chair, mirroring the actions of Floridian Rep. Matt Gaetz last year, which led to Kevin McCarthy’s departure from Congress.
On Saturday morning, the bill passed the Senate by 74 votes to 24, but Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana accused his fellow lawmakers of “juvenile” behavior for once again waiting until the last minute.
As NBC News noted, “Congress has narrowly averted multiple shutdowns this session, passing four stopgap bills that kept extending the deadline.”
The 1,000-page bill includes an $824 billion funding boost for Defense, which will pay for a 5.2% salary hike for US service personnel—the highest increase for 20 years. A further $62 billion is available for Homeland Security, with $20 billion for US Customs and Border Protection, allowing it to increase personnel numbers to 22,000 and hire additional officers to fight Fentanyl import and distribution.
Education funding has been reduced by $500 million and is down to $79 billion—$11 billion less than President Biden hoped for but $22 billion more than proposed by Republicans.
Notably, the legislation ends funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA), which Israel accuses of employing people who either supported or actively participated in the October 7 attacks on Israeli civilians last year. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised the measure, saying it reflects what the Jewish state has long claimed – that “UNRWA is part of the problem and cannot be part of the solution.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said the bill contained “wins” for Republicans, but it was not enough to ward off Taylor Greene’s motion for his departure.
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