The American Congress, September 28, 2023 (AFP/Mandel NGAN)
The United States is preparing for a “shutdown” on Friday, a paralysis of the federal government which now seems inevitable, unless there is a last-minute release in Congress, and is expected to wreak havoc in the country.
From Sunday, the world’s largest economy should operate slowly. Millions of civil servants will be deprived of salaries, air traffic disrupted, while visitors to national parks will find their doors closed.
As the deadline approaches, in fact, it seems less and less likely that Democrats and Republicans will be able to overcome political blockages to find an agreement on the budget.
The “shutdown” is “still completely avoidable, it is entirely in the hands of the Republicans in the House” of representatives, declared the head of White House economists, Lael Brainard, Friday morning on the CNBC channel.
– Aid to Ukraine, source of tensions –
Almost a year before the presidential election, both camps blame each other for this situation.
“I hope that the Democrats will not vote to put the state into a shutdown,” declared the Republican President of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, during a press conference on Friday morning.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (c) arrives at the Capitol on September 21, 2023 in Washington (AFP/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)
At the heart of this political blockage: the 2024 budget, which must be approved by the elected representatives of the Senate and the House of Representatives so that funding continues to be distributed.
In the Senate, a short-term budget proposal is supported by the vast majority of elected officials and would provide a few additional weeks to find a final agreement.
But in the House of Representatives, a handful of Trumpist Republican elected officials refuse to lend their voice to any text that would include financial aid for Ukraine.
– Unpaid civil servants –
The Republicans in the House have a competing text, which does not allocate an envelope to kyiv, but notably releases money for the fight against illegal immigration. Elected officials will vote on the proposal Friday, said Kevin McCarthy.
US President Joe Biden, in Virginia, September 29, 2023 (AFP/SAUL LOEB)
The White House is strongly opposed to this bill and has indicated that Joe Biden will veto it, accusing “extreme Republicans” of leading the country towards a “shutdown”, “which will harm our economy and our national security” .
With less than 40 hours now until the deadline, the country is preparing for this closure of services. Officials were notified Thursday of the impending paralysis.
They will in fact have to wait until the end of the “shutdown” to receive their salary. Some, considered “essential workers”, will however be requisitioned, the others will be prohibited from accessing their files and emails. The military will not be paid either.
Most of America’s famous national parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone will close. Air traffic is also expected to be very disrupted.
And some recipients of food aid could be temporarily denied it.
– “National security” –
“Hundreds of small businesses would see their loan applications fail,” the White House also warned, and would no longer be able to respond to calls for tenders for public contracts, since they would be interrupted.
“It is critical that Congress act to pass the FY 2024 appropriations and support the Administration’s request for additional funding for Ukraine, global humanitarian needs, funds to help address the migration crisis and to combat malicious actors, particularly in Africa,” a State Department spokesperson also emphasized on Friday.
“Delays in accessing these funds jeopardize the national security of the United States and cede ground to China and Russia,” he warned.
The last “shutdown” was the longest that the United States had experienced. It lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019, with a blockage around, this time, the financing of the wall on the border with Mexico wanted by former President Donald Trump.
© 2023 AFP
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