Agreement in the US budget dispute
In the United States of America, a new government shutdown was prevented through a temporary law. Congress must find a long-term solution by the end of September.
Funding for some areas of government remains open.
Photo: Drago/Bloomberg
In the United States, another government shutdown (“shutdown”) has been avoided for now – but only for a few days. The US Senate, controlled by ruling Democrats, passed a bill to fund the temporary budget on Thursday. This had already been approved by the House of Representatives, in which Republicans led by former President Donald Trump have a majority. Without the agreement, some federal authorities had to temporarily halt operations starting Saturday. The law still needs the signature of US President Joe Biden, but this is considered certain.
However, funding for some areas of government remains open. For one part, a solution must be found by March 8th, and for another part by March 22nd. Therefore, Biden described the current agreement as good news, but not long-term. The bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 77 to 13, and the House by a vote of 320 to 99. This gave Congress more time to agree on funding for the entire fiscal year, which runs through the end of September.
In January, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to spend $1.6 trillion. $ agreed upon for the current fiscal year. However, the exact distribution is still open. Johnson was pressured by hardliners in his party to use the lockdown as a means of pressure. This would force Democrats to meet Republican demands – such as measures to limit immigration at the border with Mexico. Providing more US military aid to Ukraine is also controversial.
The last agreement so far on temporary financing to avoid closure was reached in mid-January. Otherwise hundreds of thousands of state employees would likely have had to go on unpaid leave and many offices, museums and national parks would have had to temporarily close their doors. This last happened at the end of 2018/beginning of 2019.
Reuters
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