US President Barack Obama has signed into law a spending bill that Congress approved to keep the government running, the White House said.
Earlier on Saturday, the Senate had passed the $915 billion bill to fund most federal activities through next September and avert a government shutdown. It had cleared the House of Representatives on Friday.
A number of government agencies, including the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency and Labor Department, faced the possibility of shutting down this weekend without the legislation to replenish their funding.
“This is spending money that also benefits families and businesses and the entire economy, and [the jobless aid is] a
lifeline that would have been lost for more than 2.5 million people in the first two months of next year if Congress had not acted,” Obama said on Saturday in brief remarks at the White House.
He urged Congress to move quickly when it returns from its winter recess to extend the tax cut for a full year, saying it would be “inexcusable” to allow the reduction to lapse.
“It should be a formality and hopefully it’s done with as little drama as possible when they get back in January,” Obama said.
