US Congress reaches agreement on temporary funding to avoid shutdown
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
Congressional leaders announced that they have reached an agreement on a stopgap spending bill. It will fund federal agencies for the next three months, the Associated Press reports.
This will prevent a partial government shutdown starting October 1, when the new budget year begins, and postpone final budget decisions until after the November elections.
The bill also includes an additional $231 million to strengthen the US Secret Service in the wake of two incidents related to Donald Trump's candidacy. Additional funds will also be allocated to support the presidential election.
Reaching a compromise was not easy. House Speaker Mike Johnson initially proposed linking the temporary funding to a requirement to prove citizenship when registering to vote but later abandoned the idea to reach an agreement.
Now, the funding has been extended until mid-December, allowing Congress to finalize a full budget for next year after the November 5 elections. The temporary funding extends the work of government agencies, but the final decision on budgetary issues will depend on the outcome of the elections and further political calculations.
The leaders of both parties expressed satisfaction with the agreement, emphasizing the importance of avoiding a government shutdown ahead of the elections.
A shutdown is a situation where part of the US government stops working due to the lack of a new budget.
Last year, the US had a similar situation. Back then, the US Congress could not agree on the budget for 2024 since September.
