The seat of the US Congress behind a Christmas tree, December 1, 2021 (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Drew Angerer)
After long days of negotiations, the American Congress succeeded Thursday evening in pushing back in extremis the threat of paralysis of the federal services of the country, but must immediately face other burning issues on Capitol Hill.
By 69 votes to 28, the Senate approved a finance law extending the current budget until February 18, adopted a few hours earlier in the House of Representatives.
This text was the subject of fierce negotiations in the United States Congress, a handful of elected Republicans having tried to bring about a paralysis of the federal services – if only for a few days – to protest against the vaccine obligations put in place by the Biden government.
It is now up to the Democratic President to promulgate this budget before midnight Friday in order to prevent federal state funding from being suddenly cut, forcing hundreds of thousands of workers into technical unemployment.
Anxious to avoid this very unpopular situation among Americans, President Biden and parliamentary officials, Democrats and Republicans, had urged their troops to fall into line and approve this text without delay.
The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate Chuck Schumer welcomed this rare moment of union in a Congress usually subscribed to partisan quarrels. “I thank the elected officials of this chamber for protecting us from unnecessary and costly paralysis,” he said.
– Pressure instrument –
This risk now removed, elected officials must immediately thwart an equally crucial threat: they have until December 15 to increase the debt capacity of the United States in order to avoid the first sovereign default of the world’s largest economic power. .
Otherwise America could find itself strapped for cash and unable to meet its payments, a potentially catastrophic situation that major powers around the world are watching closely.
The United States, which like almost all major economies have been living on credit for decades in terms of public spending, have already repeatedly raised this famous “ceiling”.
But the Republicans began during the Obama presidency to use this routine legislative procedure as an instrument of political pressure.
This time they refuse to give the green light to a suspension of the debt limit, which, according to them, would amount to writing a blank check to Joe Biden to finance his investment projects.
And urge Democrats to approve it alone, through a laborious parliamentary maneuver, accusing Camp Biden of contributing to record inflation that Americans are very sensitive to during Christmas shopping.
– Kindergarten and climate –
US President Joe Biden during a visit to Bethesda on December 2, 2021 (AFP / MANDEL NGAN)
If Congress manages to get rid of these sites in time, it will finally be able to debate the gigantic component of social and ecological investments wanted by Joe Biden, which the White House is impatiently awaiting.
This $ 1.750 billion project, which provides, among other things, free kindergarten for all and generous funding to reduce American greenhouse gas emissions, has been blocked for months in the American Parliament.
But Joe Biden is desperately counting on these measures, very popular with Americans according to the polls, to revive his presidency.
The leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate has pledged that this text be adopted before Christmas. This scenario, like so many others in Congress, remains very uncertain for the time being.
cjc / iba