The USA is unlikely to face a shutdown before the presidential election: Republicans and Democrats have agreed on a budget, both parties said.
In the USA, a budget freeze has apparently been averted until after the presidential election. On behalf of both chambers of Congress, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, announced on Sunday (local time) in Washington the bipartisan agreement that will ensure the funding of US federal agencies until December 20.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the agreement this week. Until now, there was a threat of a shutdown before the presidential election on November 5, as funding for state institutions under federal responsibility is currently only guaranteed until the end of September. Last Wednesday, a majority of parliamentarians in both the House of Representatives and the Senate rejected a bridging budget called for by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and scheduled for the period until the end of March.
USA: Budget funding apparently in place – additional funds for the Secret Service
Unlike the rejected proposal, the agreement now reached no longer contains a provision requiring citizens to provide proof of their citizenship when registering for nationwide elections.
The new bill contains 231 million dollars (around 207 million euros) in additional funds for the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting current and former presidents – and which has come under criticism for the two assassination attempts against Republican presidential candidate Trump. In addition, an additional 47 million dollars are to be set aside for the inauguration of the next US president next January.
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Commenting on the agreement, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Schumer said he was “pleased that bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement without cuts (…).” Schumer added, however, that the agreement “could have been reached two weeks ago.” In a letter to his party colleagues, Republican House Speaker Johnson described the agreement as a “stripped-down” bridging budget that contained “only the absolutely necessary extensions.” This was the “most prudent way forward.”
Source: Stern
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