And the budget dispute is a daily occurrence: In the USA, MPs are rejecting a transitional deal to avert an impending budget freeze. This time, the Democrats are opposing it.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives have failed with a controversial budget proposal. The proposal was rejected on Wednesday by 202 votes to 220, with 14 Republicans voting against and three Democrats voting for.
Funding for federal authorities is only secured until the end of September. The bridging budget was intended to postpone the deadline for a possible shutdown to the end of March.
Democrats oppose budget
Democrats rejected the version put forward for a vote by House Speaker Mike Johnson because it was tied to a change in election law that would require Americans to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Democrats oppose the rule because it could also remove eligible voters from the voter rolls or otherwise deter them.
Trump has made illegal immigration a central theme of his re-election campaign and falsely claimed that Democrats would register illegal immigrants as voters. The Republican candidate had called for the so-called Save Act to be linked to the vote on the bridging budget. His party’s representatives should not agree to any kind of solution if they “don’t get every detail of the SAVE Act,” he wrote on his online service Truth Social before the vote.
The US is threatened with a shutdown – again
Johnson has now announced the preparation of a new interim budget to prevent a possible government shutdown after October 1, when current funding runs out. “Now we are going back to the drawing board, drawing up a new plan and finding another solution,” Johnson said. “I am already talking to colleagues.”
Democrats in the House and Senate have expressed their willingness to pass a stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown that would send hundreds of thousands of federal workers on furlough after the funding expires. This would mean cuts to government services and problems for numerous public institutions such as national parks and state museums.
Congress faces another critical deadline on Jan. 1, when lawmakers must raise the nation’s debt ceiling to prevent a default on the more than $35 trillion national debt.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
