Government affairs

Thursday night, Congress passed a continuing resolution that will fund the government until Feb. 18. House members voted 221-212 and Senators voted 69-28, which sent the bill to President Biden’s desk. Lawmakers narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing this legislation before the Dec. 3 deadline.

This short-term fix includes funding to sustain federal agencies until the Feb. 18 deadline, $7 billion to help resettle refugees from Afghanistan and $1.6 billion to assist migrant children who arrive at the border without a parent.

The new Feb. 18 deadline gives lawmakers time to focus on moving the Build Back Better Act through Congress and raising the debt limit, which will likely expire by the end of the month.

NALC will update letter carriers on any future action.