The U.S. passed its FY 2024 budget on March 23. President Biden signed it just before the deadline for passage expired. The $1.2 trillion dollar budget keeps the government running unitl October 1.
The United States passed the bulk of its Fiscal Year 2024 budget on March 23, which is roughly six months later than usual. President Joe Biden signed the budget bills into law with just hours to spare before a new government shutdown was to occur. The Associated Press reports that the government agency responsible for government shutdowns stopped preparations for the impending closure after the House of Representatives vote as the bill was seen as very likely to pass.
Trouble in the House
The $1.2 trillion budget, which funds the government through September 30, 2024, is a compromise that still gives the less radical wings of the two parties something that they wanted: for example, for conservatives, a larger budget for repatriating those who crossed the border illegally. However, the more conservative part of the Republican party, under the House Freedom Caucus, held a press conference to criticize the bipartisan passage. House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-VA) said that supporting Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) for holding the budget bill vote was impossible.
Voting on the bill was particularly contentious, though it finally passed the House of Representatives late on the night of Friday, March 22. Not only was the outcome of the vote in the House, which needed a 2/3 majority, in question, but putting forward a bi-partisan bill at all risked the ouster of Speaker Mike Johnson. The motion to move Johnson has been filed by former Freedom Caucus member Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA), but Green’s decision to act upon it is on hold until after the House returns from its two-week Spring break.
Voting in the Senate took place on Saturday, March 23, with hours left before the government would begin automatically. The budget package passed by a 74-25 margin, though the Republicans hold a 49-48 member majority in the chamber.
Funding for Ukraine and Israel
The new law includes $300 million in military aid for Ukraine. This is separate from the $60 billion package for the defense of Ukraine that has been the focus of a fight in the House of Representatives for months.
The budget also includes $3.8 billion in military funding for Israel, which itself changed its 2023-2024 budget on March 13 to increase military and security spending, funded in part by raising taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products as well as financial sector profits. The amendments bring the Israeli budget deficit to 6.6% of GDP.
