The US Senate achieved this Sunday approve the procedural vote that allows progress towards a bill that unlocks funds to reopen the federal government.
Shortly before 11:00 p.m. local time, the Senate obtained the necessary 60 votes to move toward a compromise that allows federal officials and agencies to be paid, after seven Democratic senators and independent Angus King (who usually votes with the Democrats) decided to break with their party’s discipline to allow the budget to be extended until January 30, a report from EFE.
The Democrats who decided to vote in favor of unblocking the process on the Senate floor explained that it was clear that the Republicans were not going to give in and that “there was only one agreement on the table and this was the best option to reopen the government.”
It still has to go through more votes
The agreement, which still must go through other votes in the Senate and finally the Lower House, will allow the repayment of more than 650,000 officials who have not received a payroll for more than a month and retroactive pay, as well as finance the departments of Agriculture (in charge of food stamps for the poorest), Veterans Affairs and other agencies until January 30.
As part of the negotiations, The Republican side assured Democrats that in December they would vote to extend subsidies from the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.which end this year and which had become the great obstacle to extending the budget.
Opposition among Democrats
The Democratic minority leader in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer opposed the agreement and assured that while the federal government was closed, US President Donald Trump took the affected Americans as “hostages” by suspending the food assistance program for families, veterans, the elderly and children.
“I understand that some of my Democratic colleagues are not happy with this agreement, but waiting another week or month was not going to mean a better result,” said New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who led the negotiations with the Republican caucus to overcome the impasse in which they found themselves.
The Democratic senators who voted in favor of exceeding the threshold of 60 of the 100 votes, assured that one of Its main objectives are to ensure that Obamacare coverage credits are maintained for millions of Americans who depend on them..
Democrats bowing to pressure?
The agreement must obtain the endorsement of the House of Representatives, where there is division in both parties. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he will vote no, while Pete Aguilar, chairman of the Democratic Caucus, joined opposition to the bill because “it does not fix the health care crisis or make Americans’ lives more affordable.”
For cnn The main story is that enough Democrats are bowing to pressure without achieving the goal that led them to withhold their votes on a government funding bill and shut down federal operations in early October.
“The repercussions could be serious, exposing deep divisions in the party that could demonstrate that the “grand coalition” that leaders kept mentioning after last week’s electoral victories is more viable in theory than in practice,” notes the US network.
A record government shutdown in US history.
This federal government shutdown has lasted a record 40 days and has caused the suspension of salaries for several hundred thousand federal officials, the closure of basic services, the non-payment of food stamps for the poorest or long delays in airports and air traffic due to the shortage of controllers or members of airport security.
Faced with a lack of salaries, many officials have been forced to resort to food donations or resort to emergency loans, all while a large number continued to work without receiving paychecks. In addition, analysts were beginning to fear that the long hiatus in the federal government’s ability to fully operate was going to begin to have an irreversible impact on the growth of the US economy, he notes. EFE.
