Both the US House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill on Thursday that guarantees government funding for the time being and thus prevents a so-called shutdown. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden, who must sign it, but this is again a temporary measure.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said: “I am pleased to tell the American people that there will be no government shutdown on Friday.” The approved bill only expands existing guidelines for government spending and is therefore only a transitional arrangement. A divided Congress has been unable to agree on a funding bill for the entire budget year since September.
Funding for a number of ministries and federal agencies was scheduled to end on Saturday evening. As a result of the parliamentary decision, lockdown has now been avoided until at least 8 March. With the extension – now the fourth – MPs now want to give themselves more time to reach a long-term agreement.
The problem lies primarily in the House of Representatives, which has a Republican majority. Donald Trump's supporters have so far blocked passage of the 2024 federal budget there.
“temporary hiatus”
So the law that has been approved now is called “Closing the Gap”, which is an emergency measure, because if a solution is not found quickly, many federal government services will not receive money and, among other things, civil servants will not receive their wages.
In the United States, government departments can be closed if politicians cannot agree on a state budget. Such a scenario has loomed on the horizon recently because Republicans hold a majority in the House of Representatives of Parliament and Democrats control the Senate.
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