U.S. Congress: Leaders of both parties want to avert a partial shutdown of U.S. government agencies before the end of January
Photo: WIN MCNAMEE/ AFP
A partial shutdown of the U.S. government agencies in January seems to have been averted for the time being. Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress have agreed on a financial package to prevent the so-called shutdown.
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, spoke on Sunday of a package of 1.6 trillion dollars for the fiscal year 2024. According to the Republican, $886 billion of this is earmarked for defense and $704 billion for other spending.
The funds, which are not related to defense, would protect key domestic priorities such as benefits for ex-soldiers, health care and food subsidies from cuts, said the two ranking Democrats, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. They put non-defense spending at $772.7 billion – almost $69 billion more than Johnson said.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate must agree on details. U.S. President Joe Biden said the agreement brings the country one step closer to "preventing an unnecessary government shutdown and protecting key national priorities."
ssp/Reuters