WASHINGTON — The government narrowly escaped a shutdown Saturday evening. Democrats and Republicans have been playing tug-a-war all month long when it comes to finding middle ground for the budget for the following year.
“Passage of this funding bill means we will avoid major disruptions to our economy and vital government services Americans rely on, the nearly 200,000 federal employees and servicemembers living and working in Maryland will stay on the job and receive their pay, and federal relief efforts in the wake of recent natural disasters will proceed. It shouldn’t have taken until the 11th hour, but I’m encouraged that enough House Republicans finally heeded our calls to work in a bipartisan manner and that we were able to keep the government open, allowing more time to make progress on full-year funding legislation. While I would have preferred to pass a bill now with additional assistance for Ukraine, which has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, it is easier to help Ukraine with the government open than if it were closed. That’s why we must spend the next 45 days working together to fully fund the government for the next fiscal year and ensure we provide vital support to the Ukrainian people as they defend themselves against Putin’s aggression.” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen.
While many people may feel relief, others are still on edge because the new bill is only temporary. The bill keeps the government open for an additional 45 days. That deadline is just one week before Thanksgiving. If Congress can’t come to an agreement before then, a lot of Americans won’t have much to be thankful for.
In a statement, President Biden, seemed very grateful to have avoided what he called “needless pain”.
“Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hard working Americans,” said President Biden.
Despite his gratitude, he also expressed extreme disappointment and frustration with members of Congress.
“I want to be clear: we should never have been in this position in the first place. Just a few months ago, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement to avoid precisely this type of manufactured crisis. For weeks, extreme House Republicans tried to walk away from that deal by demanding drastic cuts that would have been devastating for millions of Americans. They failed.” -President Biden.
Now all eyes remain on Congress as we await their full-year funding legislation.