KICK THE CAN

Obama Signs $984B Funding Bill

To avoid government shutdown.

President Obama signed a bill on Tuesday that will keep the federal government funded through September 30, which will avoid a government shutdown. The $984 billion, six-month continuing resolution includes spending cuts that are part of the sequester, the across-the-board spending cuts that kicked in earlier this month after lawmakers were not able to draw up a budget. White House press secretary Jay Carney insisted that Obama signing this bill—which cleared Congress last week—should not be interpreted as the president endorsing the sequester’s cuts. Carney also insisted this does not mean the president has lost the greater budget argument, in which Obama and Democrats have called for increased taxes to pump more money into the government.