2023-09-30 17:05:33
© Reuters. US Congress Building, in Washington 08/31/2023 REUTERS/Kevin Wurm
Por Andy Sullivan e David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers return to the U.S. Congress on Saturday without a clear path to resolving a dispute that appears likely to paralyze broad swaths of the federal government, from national parks to financial regulation.
Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has brought the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, as the House has failed to pass legislation that would keep the government fully operational after the start of the fiscal year in October 1st.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to present an interim funding bill, but a final vote could take a few days.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees will not have the resources to do their jobs if both houses do not send a spending bill to Democratic President Joe Biden to sign into law by 12:00 a.m. Sunday local time (1:01 a.m. Brasilia) .
Federal agencies have already drawn up detailed plans that define which services should continue, such as airport screening and border patrols, and which should be ended, such as scientific research and nutritional aid for 7 million poor mothers.
Most of the government’s more than 4 million employees would not receive pay whether they were working or not.
The impasse comes just months after Congress brought the federal government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion in debt. The drama raised concerns on Wall Street, where rating agency Moody’s warned it could harm US creditworthiness.
Typically, Congress passes stopgap spending bills to buy more time to negotiate detailed legislation that defines funding for federal programs.
This year, a group of Republicans blocked action in the House as they pushed to restrict immigration and cut spending below levels agreed upon in the debt ceiling standoff.
On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation reflecting those demands, saying the House should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the entire fiscal year, even if doing so would lead to a short-term shutdown.
That angered other Republicans, who said they had wasted an opportunity to promote conservative policies.
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