Washington – The United States Congress has entered the countdown against a possible government shutdown if members of the Democratic Party, which leads the Senate, and the Republicans, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, do not agree on a bill budget before the 30th of this month.
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass some type of funding law signed into law by the president. They often resort to passing a temporary extension, called a continuing resolution (CR), to allow the government to continue functioning.
Public employees yesterday began to receive official notifications about the probable lack of funds from the federal State to remunerate their functions, and many will be temporarily unemployed or will have to work without receiving a salary.
Three days before the deadline for a possible closure, the two chambers of Congress are moving in opposite directions, without converging on a common path.
In the Senate he is working on a bill that has bipartisan agreement and that, being of the RC type, would finance the government at current levels until November 17 and would provide approximately $6 billion in aid to Ukraine and another $6 billion to dollars for disaster relief.
That bill is on track to be approved by the Senate in the coming days, as members negotiate to reach an agreement to vote quickly. But many House Republicans say they strongly oppose that bill.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy opposes that deal and as an alternative said he plans to introduce several short-term funding bills today, ahead of Saturday’s 11:59 p.m. deadline.
However, the conservative package requires deep spending cuts and a border and immigration measure that would not prosper in the upper house, CNN and NBC news networks reported. “Bet on me: we are going to get it,” he said in an interview with the CNBC channel.
Work
“I think we can work over the weekend. “I think we can figure this out.”
But McCarthy may not have the votes for that initiative, according to statements from members of his own ranks.
“If (Republican) leaders introduce a Democratic bill to advance Democratic priorities, then it is very likely that a motion to impeach the (House Republican) speaker will be introduced,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. and McCarthy’s main antagonist. Yesterday morning, McCarthy urged Republicans to support the text because it would allow them to continue moving forward in passing individual bills.
Otherwise, “we weaken,” said the Republican, according to the legislators present at a meeting with the Republican spokesperson in the Lower House.
Representative Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, who plans to vote no on the initiative agreed upon between the ruling party and the opposition, said that the probability of a government shutdown is “very high.”
Staff members at some federal agencies began receiving their first official communications Thursday about the impacts of a potential shutdown.
Youths
Also yesterday, dozens of young activists temporarily occupied the office of a Republican leader in Congress to protest against the threat of a budget paralysis that, they denounce, could worsen the consequences of the climate crisis.
The action was led by the Sunrise Movement, an organization that has brought together young people committed against global warming since 2017.
Lawmakers must pass 12 different bills to fund agencies across the government.
Government funding expires on October 1, the start of the federal budget year.
If Congress fails to pass a funding plan that the president can sign into law, the shutdown will begin at 12:01 p.m. on Sunday. The length of time that an interruption of this type may last is not foreseen.
Source: Ambito
