US Congress Averts Government Shutdown

The US Government has avoided a Federal shutdown after both House and Senate agreed on a short-term funding deal.

A bill that keeps the Government funded until 17 November but includes no new aid for Ukraine was approved in the Senate by 88 votes to nine.

President Joe Biden signed it into law minutes before the midnight deadline.

The proposal was put forward by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as he fought off a rebellion by hard-liners in his own party.

A shutdown, which would place thousands of Federal employees on furlough without pay and suspend various Government services, was slated to begin at 00:01 ET (04:01 GMT) on Sunday.

But in a dramatic turnaround, House Republicans scrambled to pass a temporary funding measure that would keep the Government open until mid-November.

It was backed by more Democrats than Republicans, with as many as 90 Republicans voting against it.

In a statement released shortly after the Senate vote, President Joe Biden said “extreme House Republicans” had sought to create a “manufactured crisis”, and urged Speaker McCarthy to allow a further funding deal for Ukraine to pass without delay.

“We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said.

Shutdowns happen when both Chambers of Congress are unable to agree on the roughly 30% of Federal spending they must approve before the start of each fiscal year on 1 October.

BBC