Even in the climate of tension and political polarization that the United States is experiencing, Democrats and Republicans have been able to reach an agreement that can avoid the partial closure of the Administration next month. This is only a first step, an agreement to establish a kind of spending ceiling that cannot be exceeded in the dozen budget laws that finance the federal Administration. Although there is still a risk that the negotiation will derail when it comes to the distribution of funds, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, has immediately celebrated this progress.
The agreement has been reached between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and the Democratic majority leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer, along with the minority leaders of both chambers. It is precisely the fact that there are political majorities of different signs in the two chambers of Congress that has kept almost all legislative activity blocked for more than a year.
The agreement sets the spending ceiling at 1.66 trillion, including an inflation adjustment of 69,000 million. These figures respect the agreement that Biden reached in May with the previous speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, to suspend the debt ceiling. “By securing $772.7 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, we can protect key national priorities like veterans benefits, health care and nutrition assistance from the draconian cuts sought by right-wing extremists,” have indicated in a joint statement Schumer and the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.
Congress also has to approve the law proposed by Biden for aid to Ukraine and Israel, among other items, which is not affected by this agreement.
The president celebrated the progress in a statement: “The bipartisan financing framework reached by Congressional leaders brings us one step closer to preventing an unnecessary government shutdown and protecting important national priorities. It reflects the funding levels I negotiated with both parties and signed into law last spring. “It rejects deep cuts to the programs that working families rely on, and offers a path to pass year-round funding bills that benefit the American people and are free of extreme policies,” Biden said. “Now, Congressional Republicans must do their job, stop threatening to shut down the government, and fulfill their basic responsibility to fund critical national and domestic security priorities, including my supplemental request. It is time for them to act,” he added.
Democrats and Republicans approved a second extension last November to avoid the closure of the Administration, similar in reality to the one that had previously cost Kevin McCarthy his job. For part of the programs, funding was extended until January 19 and for another part, until February 2. These are the dates that mark the countdown to reaching a definitive agreement and approving the necessary laws.
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The United States does not have one budget law, but a dozen, but is systemically unable to approve them in time for the start of the fiscal year, on October 1. The usual thing is to approve a budget extension, called a continuing resolution, while the laws that authorize the expenses of the year are processed, which usually follow a cumbersome and complex procedure, full of amendments.
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