President Joe Biden completed what he called “a year of historic success” by signing a $1.7 trillion federal budget measure that addresses several administration priorities and prevents a government shutdown. While on vacation in the US Virgin Islands’ St. Croix, Biden signed the legislation.

The comprehensive package includes a ban on TikTok on federal devices, an overhaul of the electoral vote-counting law, roughly $45 billion in emergency assistance for Ukraine and NATO allies, protections for pregnant workers, improvements to the rules governing retirement savings, and protections for pregnant workers.

The proposal also includes a number of significant Medicaid provisions, including one that could disenroll up to 19 million Americans from the country’s low-income Americans’ health insurance program. Furthermore, the budget plan omitted the White House’s request for about  $10 billion in additional funding for Covid-19 response.

 The spending bill, which will keep the government operating through September – the end of the fiscal year, is the product of lengthy negotiations between top congressional Democrats and Republicans.

CN