Shutdown almost averted
Agreement on the US budget is reached – it is Congress’ turn
March 19, 2024, 6:02 p.m
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A residual risk remains. But the Republican and Democratic leaders have agreed on financing the rest of the budget year. However, it remains unclear how the right wing of the Republicans will vote. There are currently no further aid packages for Ukraine in sight.
Leading Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress have agreed on a budget for the fiscal year that runs until the end of September. This was announced by the White House and congressional leaders. The corresponding legislative package still needs to be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by US President Joe Biden. If the package lands on Biden’s desk in time, a partial shutdown of government business in the USA could be averted: otherwise there would be a threat of a so-called shutdown on Saturday night (local time).
After Congress had already reached a partial agreement a few days ago, Tuesday’s agreement clarifies the financing of the remaining ministries and agencies. This includes, among others, the US Department of Defense and the State Department.
However, representatives from the right-wing Republican fringe have torpedoed such agreements in the past – so it cannot be completely ruled out that Congress might have to come up with a short-term solution again.
The political wrangling over the budget is not unusual in the USA. It happens regularly that Congress first makes do with passing an interim budget and then a few months later argues again about the financing of government operations. An agreement is usually only reached very shortly before the deadline expires.
The future of new financial aid from the USA for other countries such as Ukraine is still unclear. Biden had requested a large billion-dollar package for Kiev from Congress months ago. However, some Republicans are skeptical or reject support for Ukraine attacked by Russia. This domestic political blockade has prevented the delivery of military supplies from the USA to Kiev for some time.