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The US administration has begun informing its workers of an imminent “shutdown” that would send millions of federal and military employees to their homes temporarily, or make them work without pay, unless Congress reaches a final agreement regarding the budget.
The budget vote in Congress often turns into a confrontation in which one of the two parties, the Republican or the Democratic, uses the specter of a closure to extract concessions from the opponent, but these maneuvers usually fail.
Without reaching an agreement, funding for a large portion of the federal government will end at midnight on Saturday (04:00 GMT Sunday), threatening to disrupt all sectors. If the closure continues, it will deal another blow to the unstable American economy.
Four months after avoiding a catastrophic debt default, the world’s largest economy is once again on the brink of crisis, with the effects of the lockdown expected to begin to appear at the end of this week.
Republicans, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, were unable to pass the usual set of bills that determine departmental budgets for the next fiscal year, which begins Sunday, after their efforts were hampered by extremists in the party demanding major spending cuts.
Some federal employees have been informed of preparations for a “shutdown,” according to a notice seen by Agence France-Presse.
The Ministry of Health warned in an email sent Thursday to employees and seen by Agence France-Presse that the individuals notified in advance will be temporarily subject to technical unemployment, “which means that they will not be allowed to work or use the ministry’s resources.” They will therefore have to wait until the end of the “lockdown” to receive their retroactive salaries.
The longest period of budget paralysis in the United States lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019.
However, services considered “essential” will continue. The only solution to avoid a shutdown is to reach a last-minute agreement between Democrats and Republicans.
The Ministry of Health will witness “a decrease in the number of employees in almost all departments throughout this period,” according to the details of the email received by employees. The ministry said, “Many of our essential programs and activities will continue, but with a reduced number of employees.”
For her part, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that if paralysis occurs for only a few days, “our soldiers will be forced to continue working, but they will do so without pay… and thousands of their civilian colleagues will be in a period of unemployment.” She added that “the closure “It is the worst situation, so we continue to demand that Congress do its job and fund the government.”
The closure would jeopardize the financial resources allocated to workers in national parks, museums and other federally funded sites, and could have serious political repercussions for President Joe Biden as he seeks to win a second term in the 2024 elections.
Regarding the transportation sector, the “closure” could have “devastating and dangerous” consequences, according to what the US Secretary of Transportation warned on Wednesday.
For her part, the spokeswoman for the International Monetary Fund said Thursday morning in a press conference that she believes that this situation is “a threat to the American economy that can be avoided.” Julie Kozak added: “We encourage the parties to reach consensus on ways to finance the US government.”
The Democratic-led US Senate moved forward on Thursday with a temporary funding bill aimed at avoiding a partial government shutdown for the fourth time in ten years.
The House has passed three of four bills to fund parts of the government, although the partisan bills alone will not prevent a shutdown, even if they can overcome strong opposition from Senate Democrats and become law.
The Senate had voted 76-22 earlier Thursday to open debate on a temporary bill known as the Continuing Resolution, or CR, which would extend federal spending through November 17, authorizing nearly $6 billion. For all funding and assistance for local disaster response.
Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have already rejected this measure taken by the Senate. House Republicans rejected fiscal year 2024 spending levels set in a deal negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy with Biden in May.
The agreement included $1.59 trillion in discretionary spending in fiscal year 2024. House Republicans are demanding another $120 billion in cuts, as well as tougher legislation that would stem the flow of migrants at the southern US border with Mexico.
The funding battle focuses on a relatively small slice of the $6.4 trillion US budget for this fiscal year. Lawmakers are not considering cuts to popular benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
McCarthy is facing intense pressure from his caucus to cut spending and pursue other conservative priorities. Many hardliners have threatened to oust him from his leadership role if he passes a spending bill that requires any Democratic votes to pass.
The House of Representatives rejected a draft law on agricultural financing by 237 votes to 191. Twenty-seven Republicans from McCarthy’s party rejected it, most of them moderates in competitive districts who were concerned about severe funding cuts, as well as a provision that would limit access to abortion medications.
McCarthy suggested Thursday that a shutdown could be avoided if Senate Democrats agreed to address border issues in their temporary measure. “I spoke this morning with some Democratic senators there who are more aligned with what we want to do,” McCarthy told reporters at the US Capitol. “They want to do something about the border.”
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