On Wednesday Eastern Time, US congressional leaders reached an agreement at the last minute on six bills to provide temporary funding for multiple federal agencies, avoiding a partial shutdown of the US government.
However, this agreement sparked another conflict between congressional leaders and the extreme conservatives of the Republican Party, who quickly criticized the agreement.
The US government postpones the shutdown crisis
In January of this year, leaders of both parties in the US Congress reached an agreement setting a ceiling of $1.59 trillion on federal government spending for fiscal year 2024. According to the discussion between both parties at the time, the government's temporary operating funds will be provided until early March this year. Before that, the US Congress needs to reach a consensus on how to use this $1.59 trillion budget.
Afterwards, the two parties in the United States were deadlocked for a month and a half, unwilling to make concessions on budget issues. The two parties have serious differences in the budget proposal, and the Republican Party has proposed to demand that US President Biden change border policies and restrict immigration in order to pass the budget on this condition; The Democratic Party, on the other hand, believes that the border policy demanded by the Republican Party is too radical.
Now, as March 2nd approaches, departments such as the US Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation and Housing, and Department of Energy are facing a shutdown crisis. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement before March 8th, the federal government will be completely shut down.
In the latest developments on Wednesday, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Chuck Schumer reached an agreement at the last minute on 6 out of 12 funding bills.
The above six bills relate to the funding of the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Transportation, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. After passing these six bills and agreements, these departments are expected to temporarily overcome the threat of shutdown.
Members of Congress still need to pass the remaining six spending bills in the next two weeks, which relate to funding for the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, State Department, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Labor.
Since there are still disputes about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the asylum policy of the southern border of the United States, it will be more difficult to negotiate the funding issues of other government departments, including the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. This means that other departments of the US government, such as the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, may still close on March 23rd.
Temporary funding may become the norm
The agreement will provide temporary funding for a period of one week. With the help of this temporary funding, the US government can avoid the threat of partial shutdown this Saturday (March 2nd).
In a joint statement, leaders of both houses of Congress stated that Congress will vote on temporary funding in the coming days to avoid some government departments closing on Saturday.
The House of Representatives plans to vote first and hold a full vote on Thursday Eastern Time. This will be the fourth time since the start of Japan's federal fiscal year on October 1st last year that the US Congress has shifted towards temporary spending.
As the general election approaches, the differences between the two parties on border immigration issues will gradually widen. Some analysts believe that in this context, the long-term funding bill for the US fiscal year 2024 is expected to be difficult to implement, and relying on temporary funding to barely maintain the operation of the federal government may become the norm.
Different reactions from all parties
This agreement has clearly been condemned by hardline Republicans. But all signs indicate that House Speaker Mike Johnson will eventually make a compromise to keep the government running.
Conservatives within the Republican Party strongly demand the implementation of new immigration restrictions, while Republican congressional leaders such as Johnson have chosen to suspend emergency funding for aid to Ukraine and may make concessions on immigration restrictions.
South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman said it was an insult to the American people.
"It seems like we're just doing what the Democratic Party wants," criticized Bob Good, a Republican from Virginia. He is the leader of the ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus.
The White House naturally supports the agreement. White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said that this "will help prevent unnecessary shutdowns and provide more time for bipartisan funding bills."
The financial market disdains the risk of government shutdown, and many investors believe that Congress will once again reach an agreement at the last minute.