In the US, a solution to the government shutdown – at least temporarily – is getting closer. The US Senate approved a temporary budget that will guarantee funding until the end of January. Now it’s the DPR’s turn.
The US Senate has cleared the way to end the long-standing government shutdown in the US. Monday night, 60 senators voted for the interim budget and 40 voted against it. The budget is intended to guarantee funding for government affairs at least until the end of January. The bill will now be forwarded to the DPR – the second chamber. They could vote on the budget as early as Wednesday to send it to President Donald Trump. That evening he described the compromise as “very good”. The budget freeze will be lifted “very quickly”.
After weeks of deadlock, moderate Democrats in the Senate agreed yesterday to continue funding government operations, although Republicans remained unwilling to meet their main demand: an extension of tax breaks that make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. Democrats have only been promised a vote on the issue in the Senate – but the outcome is unclear. Apart from that, the DPR also has to vote and so far there has been no commitment to vote on subsidies which expire at the end of this year.
Longest shutdown in American history
The budget freeze has been in effect since October 1. This is the longest shutdown in US history. At the heart of the debate is health care. Hundreds of thousands of federal government employees are no longer being paid due to the budget freeze. Many government services have been canceled or reduced. Many flights have also been cancelled, affecting 1.2 million travelers so far. Snap’s food assistance program, which serves 42 million vulnerable citizens, has been suspended. The compromise now found in the Senate should allow the program to continue. Additionally, layoffs of thousands of federal employees will be reversed.
