US government Shutdown Nears End as Senate Passes Temporary Funding Bill
A temporary funding bill passed the Senate on Sunday with a vote of 60-40, offering a potential end to the ongoing partial government shutdown. The bill extends the current budget through the end of January, and now moves to the House of Representatives for debate and a vote before being sent to president Donald Trump for his signature. If signed, it would officially resolve the paralysis affecting parts of the federal government.
The vote saw surprising support from across the aisle, with Democratic Senator John Fetterman advocating for a swift resolution on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Feed everyone. Pay our military, our civil servants and the Capitol Police. End the chaos at airports. The country before the party.” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune echoed the sentiment, expressing satisfaction at supporting “the path towards ending this unnecessary shutdown, in a responsible way that allows civil servants to be paid quickly and the federal government to reopen.”
President Trump himself expressed optimism prior to the vote,stating,”It’s a shame that it was closed,but we will reopen our country very quickly.” House Speaker Mike Johnson also voiced confidence that the paralysis would end “this week,” calling it “our long national nightmare” at a press conference.
The shutdown, wich began October 1st, has left over a million federal employees unpaid, disrupted aid programs, and significantly impacted air travel, resulting in hundreds of daily flight cancellations.
The core of the dispute stemmed from disagreements over healthcare costs. Republicans, holding a majority in Congress, proposed a simple budget extension. Democrats, though, sought to include an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), which are set to expire at the end of the year. according to the KFF think tank, the expiration of these subsidies could lead to health insurance costs more than doubling for 24 million Americans in 2026.
The Senate’s passage required support from eight Democrats, due to Senate rules. Senator Jeanne Shaheen explained the decision, stating that weeks of negotiations demonstrated Republicans were unwilling to discuss healthcare issues to resolve the shutdown. “Waiting any longer will only prolong the suffering Americans are feeling because of the shutdown,” she added.
These centrist Democrats secured a commitment to prevent further dismissals of federal civil servants, but fell short of securing an extension of the Obamacare subsidies in the current bill. They did receive a promise from Senate Republican leadership regarding a future vote on the issue, a promise that has been met with skepticism as House Speaker Johnson has not committed to a similar vote in the House.
The compromise has sparked criticism within the Democratic party,with some accusing Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer of facilitating the agreement with Republicans.
(Source: AFP)
