“Bipartisanship prevailed”: United States Congress approved a 45-day extension that avoids a government shutdown

The United States Congress approved this Saturday an extension that allows the government to operate for the next 45 days, thus avoiding the closure that was scheduled for midnight. Both Houses passed legislation expanding funding for key issues during that time.

Three hours before the deadline, the US Senate approved the law, which received 88 yeses and 9 noes. This will guarantee (until November 17) the flow of money in government agencies and maintain funds for recovery from natural disasters, but does not contemplate aid to Ukraine or resources to address the migration emergency on the border with Mexico.

“I just signed and sent this short-term stopgap bill to the White House to fund our troops, deliver emergency aid, and keep the government open while Congress gets back to work through regular order,” the president said. the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, through the X platform.

The speaker of the House of Representatives expressed, after the vote, that he did not want to be part of the team that believed the only option was to shut down the government and not pay American troops. He emphasized that he prefers to be part of a conservative group that is betting that things will be solved.

The law will now be signed by President Joe Biden, who welcomed the bipartisan agreement and noted, in a statement released by the White House, that it averted “a crisis that would have inflicted unnecessary pain” on millions of working Americans.

“This bill ensures that active-duty troops will continue to be paid, that travelers will avoid delays at airports, that millions of women and children will continue to have access to vital nutritional assistance, and much more. “This is good news for the American people,” said the president.

Biden considered that his government should never have been in that position.

He recalled that a few months ago he and McCarthy reached a budget agreement to avoid what he called a “manufactured crisis.” Additionally, he claimed that for weeks “extremist Republicans” in the House tried to walk away from the deal, demanding “drastic cuts” that he claimed would have been devastating for millions of people.

Regarding support for Ukraine, the president stated that “under no circumstances” can he allow the interruption of US support to that country, besieged by the Russian regime. “I fully expect the speaker to maintain his commitment to the people of Ukraine and ensure the approval of the support necessary to help Ukraine at this critical time,” he said.

“We have avoided closure. The bipartisanship, which has been the trademark of the Senate, prevailed, and the American people can breathe a sigh of relief,” said Chuck Summer, leader of the Democratic majority in the Upper House, shortly before the vote was held.

“Democrats said from the beginning that the only solution to avoid a shutdown was bipartisanship. President McCarthy finally heeded our message. He could have made this decision weeks ago. Our bipartisan work in the Senate made this possible,” Summer added.

In the Lower House, the proposal presented by McCarthy obtained 334 votes in favor in the afternoon: 209 from Democratic congressmen and 125 from Republicans, who have the majority. A group of 91 radical republicans opposed it.

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