The Senate passed a spending package early Saturday morning to keep the government open. The package funded the remaining six unfunded spending bills through the current fiscal year, which is about half over.
President Joe Biden signed the spending package into law, saying it “expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad and provides resources to secure the border…. That’s good news for the American people.”
The $1.2 trillion bill included about $825 billion for DOD. That includes a 5.2% increase for military pay and $100 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program.
Granger Out for Next Round
The House and Senate are in their districts through Easter, then will continue work on the fiscal year 2025 bills that go into effect Oct. 1.
But one key player is stepping away from this appropriations cycle.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas), the first woman to hold that gavel, announced she’s stepping down from the panel’s top spot before the upcoming fiscal year’s bills are drafted, as The Hill and others reported.
Granger, who’s retiring from Congress at the end of the year, prefers to be an advisor to the new appropriations chair when one is selected by the House GOP Conference, she said.
AP photo of Biden at the White House by Andrew Harnik
