The House of Representatives of the United States, with a Democratic majority, approved this Thursday a temporary extension of the budget to prevent the administration from running out of funds and having to suspend various functions. With the backing of 254 legislators and the rejection of 175, the initiative was approved and will now be sent to the White House for US President Joe Biden to sign and become law. The stakes were so high that, to avoid the dreaded “shutdown,” Biden chose to cancel a trip to Chicago and lead negotiations with legislators.
Before the approval of the project, the president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, highlighted the importance of financing the administration at a time when the US economy seeks to recover from the negative effects of the pandemic. “Democrats stand up for the people and we will fight to protect their health, national security, and well-being. This legislation does just that.”Pelosi pointed out.
The law will serve to finance the administration until December 3, at which time Democrats and Republicans will have to reach another agreement to avoid a government shutdown. What’s more, includes help for those affected by storms and hurricanes in recent months, as well as funds for refugees from Afghanistan that came to the United States.
Since 1976, when new budget laws were passed, the US administration has run out of funds about 20 times, although most of the time it was only for one day. The longest government shutdown, of 35 days, occurred during the presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021) due to disagreements about the funds for the wall he wanted to build on the border with Mexico.
When the government runs out of funds, most government agencies, museums, and national parks close their doors, while hundreds of thousands of federal employees are temporarily out of work and without pay.
Regardless of the length of the budget, which is discounted to be promulgated without delay by Biden, the president still has to get approval for his major social spending and infrastructure projects and the impending default on the debt ceiling.
Among other priorities, Congress must approve before October 18 the increase in the country’s debt capacity if you want to avoid the first default in American history. Republicans refuse to suspend the debt issuance limit, as they believe it would be a blank check for the Biden government.
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