The US Senate voted late on Wednesday evening (local time) for the interim government interim financing bill. The two-stage proposal from House Speaker Mike Johnson was approved by a vote of 87 to 11. This means that the feared shutdown, a standstill of government business in the USA, has been averted for the time being. The House of Representatives had already approved the draft on Tuesday.
The draft that has now been approved stipulates that around a fifth of the money for government business and federal agencies will be financed until January 19th, including money for the military and veterans, agriculture and transport. The other four-fifths, such as the State Department, Trade, Labor and Health, will be funded through February 2nd. The term of the current interim budget, which was only passed by the US Congress at the beginning of October, ends on Saturday. Until then, a solution had to be found to avert the insolvency of the public administration. Without approval, employees in parts of the public administration, among others, would no longer have received their salaries from Saturday.
The budget excludes the billions in support for Israel and Ukraine requested by President Joe Biden, as well as new money for the US border protection with Mexico. These points would have to be decided separately later, just like a regular budget with a longer term.
Before the vote, National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby emphasized that a quick decision must be made regarding the next round of aid to Ukraine. “There is no other solution – we must have additional money for Ukraine so that they can continue the fight against Russian aggression.” Republicans in particular are increasingly skeptical or rejecting support for the country attacked by Russia. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of Biden’s Democrats announced that the funds would be negotiated in the coming weeks.
The political wrangling over the budget repeats itself every year – usually Congress makes do with passing an interim budget and then fights again a few months later over the financing of government operations. The next budget deadline is now Jan. 19, just days after the Iowa caucuses that kick off the 2024 presidential campaign. The bill is now before President Joe Biden, who still has to sign it.