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If the Democrats and Republicans do not reach an agreement before the start of fiscal year 2024 (October 1, 2023), the US government will have to shut down until a budget bill for next year is passed.
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| US Capitol Building in Washington, DC Photo: REUTERS |
According to AP, a US government shutdown seems inevitable as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced he would not use Senate legislation to keep the federal government fully operational.
According to Reuters, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives rejected the spending level for fiscal year 2024 set in the deal that House Speaker K. McCarthy negotiated with President Joe Biden in May.
The deal includes $1.59 trillion in spending in fiscal year 2024, an additional $120 billion in cuts, and tougher laws to stem the flow of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The budget impasse is believed to stem largely from tax and spending issues, including a $24 billion aid package for Ukraine.
McCarthy has repeatedly called on President Joe Biden to come to the negotiating table as Republicans seek changes to border policy and further spending cuts as part of a deal to avert a government shutdown this weekend.
Meanwhile, the US Senate is working toward passing a bipartisan measure that would temporarily fund the government through November 17, while also providing $6 billion for Ukraine and $6 billion for US disaster relief. If this scenario occurs, hundreds of government agencies would be affected.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have just notified employees to prepare for the shutdown. Military and federal employees, including law enforcement officers, air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration employees, will still be required to work. They will lose pay if the shutdown lasts beyond October 13, the next scheduled payday.
Furthermore, the White House statement made it clear: In the event of a partial shutdown of the US government, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, which is already struggling due to multiple natural disasters, would be affected, leading to the suspension of nearly 2,000 long-term recovery programs.
Not only that, many infrastructure reconstruction projects are at risk of being delayed, such as schools in Wilson County (Tennessee), a nursing home in New Jersey and many multi-million dollar projects in Florida.
The US government has also had periods of shutdown, the longest in US history being 35 days (from late 2018 to early 2019) under former President Donald Trump, due to disagreements between Mr. Trump and the US Congress over the government spending bill.
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