The U.S. Senate, on January 18, voted in favor of a bill that prevents a partial shutdown of the government, while maintaining the funding of federal agencies. This step advances the approval of an interim financing measure, which is expected to be ratified by the House of Representatives shortly.

Faced with the risk of running out of funds for many departments just after 11:59 p.m. on January 19, the Democratic-led Senate passed this legislation that ensures operations until at least March 1. The House of Representatives must now vote on the same bill and, if passed, it will be sent to President Joe Biden for signature by midnight Friday, thus avoiding technical layoffs for thousands of employees, including air traffic controllers.

The U.S. Congress faces pressure to avoid the notorious partial government “shutdown,” especially considering an impending snowstorm in Washington and the cancellation of votes scheduled for Friday in the House of Representatives.

This funding law will allow the government to continue its state spending until early March, providing time for Congress to agree on a broader budget and spending details. The current situation underscores the recurrent dysfunction of Congress in approving a budget for the fiscal year, which has already been underway for four months, often resorting to temporary measures to avoid a budgetary paralysis.

Negotiations for this bill, voted on Thursday, were marked by tensions between Republicans, a majority in the House, and Democrats, a majority in the Senate. Republican members of the ultra-conservative wing of the House of Representatives are expected to vote against this interim measure, though Democratic support is expected to secure its passage.

The main disagreement between the two parties is over spending allocations.

K. Tovar

Source: El País

(Reference image source: X, @vozdeltuit)

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