US Congress approved budget to avoid government shutdown

The United States Congress has approved Thusday an interim financing bill in rare demonstration of unity between parties to avoid a crippling government shutdown and keep the lights on for another two months, as Democratic leaders struggled to negotiate peace between their own warring members over President Joe Biden’s endangered national agenda.

Vote to fund federal agencies with an extension of the current budget up to December 3 spent comfortably with opposition Republicans who support Democrats, and the House of Representatives gave the green light a few hours before of the midnight delay, avoid a partial government shutdown similar to that of late 2018 and early 2019, which lasted 35 days.

The House of Representatives voted by 254 votes to 175 to keep the lights on for another two months with a resolution that had already comfortably advanced from the Senate.

“It’s a good result, I’m happy we got it”, Chuck Schumer, the top Democratic senator, told his colleagues in the chamber ahead of the vote, which was never in doubt. “With so much to deal with here in Washington, the last thing the American people need is for the government to stop.”

The rare example of bipartisan cooperation involves Democratic leaders trying to reach agreement on Biden’s fragile $ 3.5 trillion social spending plan, which has no Republican backing, and a bipartisan infrastructure bill of $ 1 trillion.

House slated to vote on $ 1 trillion infrastructure investment bill which was approved by the Senate last month in a bipartisan vote. Since then, Republican congressmen have backed away from the plan to deny victory to Biden.

However, it is not clear if the vote will take place. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced a revolt by an influential group of progressive Democrats demanding to keep it until the biggest national investment project, the 3.5 trillion dollars, is accepted.

The moderates are pushing for a smaller package, and negotiations over this could last weeks or more.

Nancy Pelosi assembled her management team in an early morning meeting and came out determined to move forward, to reconcile with Biden. and avoid what would be a far-reaching setback if the vote on the public works bill fails or has to be overturned.

“Step by step,” Pelosi said on Capitol Hill, suggesting that a deal with Biden was close at hand. “This is the road – this is not a fork”added. “This is the fun part.”

In addition to ensuring the proper functioning of government operations, the interim spending bill would provide assistance to communities affected by hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters. Money is also included to help Afghan refugees.

The focus is on Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, centrist Democrats who helped pass this bipartisan bill, but They are concerned about the global size of Biden’s plan. They consider it too big, but they have infuriated their colleagues by not making any counterproposals public.

With Republicans opposing the president’s big plan as a bloc, ridiculing it as a slide into socialist-style spending, Biden locked himself in the White House trying to come to an agreement with members of his own party for a historic legislative achievement.

The president canceled a scheduled trip to Chicago where he was scheduled to discuss the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, met separately with Manchin and Sinema in the White House, and even appeared at the annual congressional baseball game on Wednesday night, a gesture of goodwill during the rare bipartisan event between legislators.

However, there is another battle brewing in Congress. Tracks the pulse between Democrats and Republicans on whether to give the Treasury Department additional authority to obtain raise the debt ceiling beyond the current limit of $ 28.4 trillion. If Congress does not act, there could be a historic breach of commitments around Oct. 18, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Republicans do not want to participate in raising the debt ceiling, adding that it’s a problem for the Democrats, who control Congress and the White House.

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday evening suspending the debt ceiling until December 2022.. Republican senators are expected to block it, perhaps Thursday.

(With information from Reuters and AP)

KEEP READING: