The text approved by Congress guarantees the operation of federal services for 47 days pending final funding
US President Joe Biden approved a preliminary US government financing project on Saturday night (September 30, 2023). The text was passed by Congress on the same day and prevents the country’s federal agencies from being paralyzed due to a lack of resources.
“I just signed a law to keep the government running for 47 days. There is enough time to pass federal funding legislation for the next fiscal year, and I urge Congress to get to work immediately,” Biden wrote in a post X.
If the law is not passed by Saturday (September 30th), the US government would go into shutdown. Federal government employees would be furloughed and told not to report to work. Employees in essential sectors such as security would continue to work but would not be paid.
The deadline is due to the start of the fiscal year in the USA, which is always October 1st.
“SWITCH OFF”
In 1884, the U.S. government passed the AntiDeficiency Act, which prohibited federal agencies from spending more than permitted without congressional approval.
Therefore, the legislature must pass twelve budget laws every year to finance all public spending. If this does not happen, the sectors whose spending has not been approved will come to a standstill the shutdown.
Since 1976, when the U.S. moved the start of the fiscal year to Oct. 1, the government has shut down 21 times. The most relevant were the years 1995, 2013 and 2018.
The last strike occurred during the administration of former President Donald Trump and was the longest to date: it lasted 34 days. Read more in this report.
