Washington (AFP) – The United States Congress agreed in extremis on Saturday to keep the government running for 45 days and avoid a costly shutdown, even though aid to Ukraine demanded by President Joe Biden was left out of the agreement.
First change: October 2, 2023 – 11:55 a.m. Last change: October 2, 2023 – 11:54 a.m
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Three hours before midnight on Saturday, the deadline during which the government was blocked due to a lack of funds, the Senate agreed to a resolution passed a few hours earlier in the House of Representatives to keep the administration operational until mid-November.
The solution came after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made a last-ditch effort to avoid a paralysis that threatened everything from military operations to food aid to federal policy.
“Bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted tonight to keep the government open and avoid a needless crisis that would have caused unnecessary pain to millions of hardworking Americans,” Biden said in a statement.
However, he accused Republicans of ignoring spending agreements agreed to months ago and of failing to include military aid to Ukraine.
“I fully expect the Speaker (of the House) to maintain his commitment to the people of Ukraine and ensure approval of the support necessary to help Ukraine at this critical time,” Biden said in a statement .
The measure, passed on McCarthy’s initiative and described as a “stopgap measure,” allows the government to be funded for another 45 days, but without any aid to Ukraine, a major point of contention for Democrats.
According to media reports, lawmakers will now have to discuss a separate bill on the $24 billion in military aid to Ukraine that Biden wanted to include in the budget. The vote is expected to take place early next week.
“I think there is a real frustration across America that this president is ignoring the American border and is more worried about something else,” McCarthy said, referring to what Republicans are calling “America’s immigration crisis.”
Ukraine in limbo
Aware of his great American ally’s political problems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Congress last week to persuade Washington to help him cross “the finish line” before Russia.
A handful of Trumpist Republicans refused to provide new aid money to Kiev, saying that money should be used to address the immigration crisis in the United States.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (c) arrives at the Capitol in Washington on September 21, 2023 © Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP
Donald Trump’s deputies, who have disproportionate power due to the very small Republican majority in the House of Representatives, brought the United States to the brink of a political and financial abyss four months ago by raising the debt ceiling.
“Shutdown” 2018
McCarthy was elected after numerous negotiations with Trumpists and risked his seat.
“You know what? If I have to risk my job to defend the American people, I will,” he said early Saturday in the middle of the talks. And he added: “If someone wants to fire me (…), they should try.”
Duration of service closure or “shutdown” in the United States © Corin FAIFE, Paz PIZARRO / AFP
During Trump’s presidency, the United States experienced its longest federal government shutdown in 2018. According to various estimates, US GDP lost more than $3 billion as a result.
A few hours before the deadline, the United States is preparing for another shutdown of public services. Officials were informed of the impending situation on Thursday.
Most American national parks such as Yosemite and Yellowstone remain closed. Significant disruptions are also to be expected in air traffic.
Each week that the federal government was shut down would cost U.S. GDP 0.2 points of growth in the fourth quarter, according to economists at Goldman Sachs.
© 2023 AFP