The United States Congress is once again buying time to prevent a partial government shutdown. Republicans and Democrats joined together in the Senate and House of Representatives to agree to a new extension that would allow public services to continue operating normally while budget legislation is passed. The hard wing of the Republican Party has rejected the new extension, a measure similar to the one that once cost Kevin McCarthy the post of House Speaker but which has already been repeated twice by his successor Mike Johnson.
Congressional leaders had already agreed last weekend to approve that extension, a so-called standing resolution. It ultimately passed in the Senate by a vote of 77 to 18 and in the House of Representatives by a vote of 314 to 108. The opposition was focused on the Republican Party, particularly its hardline wing. “It's Groundhog Day all the time in the House of Representatives, every day we spend money we don't have,” said Chip Roy, one of the hardliners' leaders.
Shortly before the vote, the House Freedom Caucus announced that it “strongly” opposes the measure because it would allow for more spending than they advocate. Essentially, they are the same people who voted against the first and second extensions, although the rejection of these votes has also increased. In the House of Representatives, 107 Republicans voted for and 106 against, while among Democrats there were 207 yes votes and only two no votes.
Mike Johnson justified himself this week after the agreement with the Democrats: “We just needed a little more time in the calendar to get it done, and here we are.” “We're not going to get everything we want.”
The extension extends through March 1 for some federal agencies whose spending approval ended this Friday and March 8 for most of the administration. The United States has not just one budget bill, but a dozen, but is fundamentally unable to pass them in time for the start of the fiscal year on October 1st. Typically, a budget extension, called a standing resolution, is approved while legislation authorizing the year's spending is being processed, which usually follows a cumbersome and complex process full of amendments.
At the same time, Democrats and Republicans have agreed in principle to set the spending level for the new budget laws at $1.66 trillion. Even the most radical Republicans reject the agreement and in any case there still remains an agreement on how this money will be distributed among the various items.
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Aside from the annual budget proposals, US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve a fund of more than $110 billion, including more than $64 billion to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion. Another 14 billion would be used to support Israel in its offensive in Gaza. And $6 billion would be spent on the border with Mexico.
Biden hosted the Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress this Wednesday at the White House to redouble the pressure to approve this increasingly urgent aid to Ukraine. At the end of the meeting, Republicans said the talks had been “productive” but maintained their desire to first agree to tough border reform. Biden was “encouraged” by the progress of negotiations between the two parties.
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