Just after the government briefly shut down for the second time in a few weeks, both Congressional bodies voted for a government spending bill on Friday,
President Donald Trump signed the colossal bill into law early Friday morning.
The delay was caused by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul who prevented the deal from being passed before the Thursday deadline. Paul slammed his Republican colleagues for “hypocrisy” for not pursuing fiscal austerity and curtailing a ballooning national debt.
The bill cleared the way for massive spending increases, including doling out nearly $90 billion in funding for disaster relief efforts in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, and increasing the debt ceiling which was set to be reached next month.
The bill would also set up a two-year, $300 billion boost in spending on military and domestic programs. In addition, it would give two years of funding for community health centers to fight the opioid crisis and extend the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program for an additional four years.