On the night of December 21, US Congress senators passed a bill that continues to fund the government. 85 members of the upper house of Congress voted in favor, 11 voted against.
This made it possible to avoid a shutdown – suspension of the work of certain federal bodies.
Now the document must be signed by President Joe Biden. At the same time, the bill does not increase the national debt limit, which was demanded by US President-elect Donald Trump.
The bill also provides for the allocation of $100 billion. and disaster relief and $10 billion. for economic assistance to farmers.
In general, this was the third attempt to adopt a temporary budget. And any of these attempts led to a split within the Republicans. Even on the last successful attempt, 34 Republicans voted against it.
This could be the first shutdown since December 2018. Then, during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, there was a shutdown that lasted 34 days. Since 1976, the US government has shut down 21 times.
The vote for the bill took place after midnight local time. Technically, government funding has expired. However, the adoption of the document prevented the work of various services from stopping, from air traffic to law enforcement agencies.
The bill must now be approved by US President Joe Biden.
The document provides for funding of government agencies at the same level, and also includes $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion for assistance to agriculture. In addition, it talks about increasing salaries for legislators and taking action against hidden commissions.
The bill does not include raising the debt ceiling, which US President-elect Donald Trump has pushed for. He called on Congress not to pass the bill.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.