Nov 17, 2023

Biden signature averts shutdown, extends Farm Bill

President Joe Biden has signed a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, extending the Farm Bill for a year and funding agriculture programs through the new year.

The U.S. House on Nov. 14 passed the stopgap funding bill brokered by new House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Senate approved it on Nov. 15, and Biden signed it on Nov. 16. Without its passage, federal funding would have expired on Nov. 17.

The bill extends the 2018 Farm Bill through the end of September 2024, a year after it expired. The “laddered” continuing resolution, however, funds the USDA only through Jan. 19, along with the transportation, housing and urban development, and veteran’s affairs departments. Funding for the defense and other departments expire on Feb. 2.