Once again, a government shutdown in the USA has been prevented. The US Congress approved a transitional budget. This secures the funding of government agencies beyond the presidential election for the time being.
The members of Congress in the USA have passed a law for an interim budget at short notice. This will prevent a standstill in government business – a so-called shutdown. Without an agreement, employees in parts of the public administration would no longer have been paid from next Tuesday.
Despite opposition from within the Republican caucus in the House, the bill passed by a vote of 341 to 82, with all of the dissenting votes coming from Republicans. The bill has already passed the Democratic-dominated Senate. The bill will now be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature before current funding expires at midnight (local time) on Monday.
Trump called for dissent
The law now maintains funding for government agencies through December 20 – beyond the presidential election on November 5. Spending will continue at the level of the previous budget.
Last Wednesday, a majority of parliamentarians in both the House of Representatives and the Senate rejected a stopgap budget demanded by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Unlike the rejected proposal, the agreement now reached no longer contains a provision that requires citizens to provide proof of their citizenship when registering for nationwide elections. Trump had called on Republicans on his online network Truth Social not to agree to a proposal without this provision under any circumstances.
More money for the Secret Service
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the package only contained the most necessary financial commitments. These included $231 million (around 207 million euros) in additional funds for the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting current and former presidents – and which has come under criticism because of the two assassination attempts against Republican presidential candidate Trump.
The final spending decisions have been postponed and will only be made after the elections.
