One week postponement: US budget freeze averted


Postponement by one week
Budget freeze averted in the USA

In the US, the fiscal year ends in late September. Because of the election, the current budget was extended. But now the negotiations are stalling. Once again, the country is moving forward by the week.

The US Congress has averted an impending budget freeze and thus a shutdown of federal agencies – but only for one week. After the House of Representatives, the Senate also voted for a week-long extension of the current federal budget until December 18. President Donald Trump had to sign the relevant resolution by midnight.

Trump's Republicans and President-elect Joe Biden's Democrats have not yet been able to agree on a new budget bill. The negotiations are made more difficult by parallel discussions about a new Corona rescue package, which have not brought any results for months.

The US budget year ends in late September. Congress had extended the current budget to December 11th that year to give the parties time to negotiate their budget until after the November 3rd presidential election. The new interim solution has now saved an additional week.

Disputes over the budget had led to a five-week financial blockade for some of the federal authorities over the turn of the year 2018/19. It was the longest "shutdown" of its kind in US history. A large number of state services as well as the salary payments for around 800,000 federal employees were temporarily canceled at that time.

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