| 01 October 2023
| Christie Anto
Washington, D.C., USA - In a decisive move that averted the looming specter of a government shutdown, the United States Congress passed a stopgap funding bill, providing temporary relief for federal agencies and millions of government employees. The House of Representatives voted 335-91 late on Saturday, with an unexpected show of bipartisan unity, to approve the funding measure, ending a stalemate that had gripped Capitol Hill. The bill was promptly signed by President Joe Biden, ensuring that essential government functions continue for the next 45 days.
This last-minute deal means that renewed discussions lie ahead in the Senate and the House of Representatives to avoid another potential shutdown if an agreement cannot be reached by November 17. In the absence of a funding bill, federal agencies would have ceased all non-essential work, leading to delayed paychecks for federal workers, including military personnel and civilian employees across the nation.
Prior to the eleventh-hour resolution, federal agencies had already outlined contingency plans, specifying which services would continue, such as airport screening and border patrols, and which would be halted, including scientific research and nutrition aid to seven million impoverished mothers.
One contentious aspect of the funding bill was the absence of new aid for Ukraine, despite calls from the White House and efforts by Democratic members of Congress. President Biden had been urging Congress to provide an additional $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs amid Russia's ongoing invasion. The Senate had proposed a bipartisan bill to allocate around $6 billion to Kyiv, but the House version passed without any aid included. Biden emphasized the importance of continuous American support for Ukraine in a statement after the bill's passage, given the ongoing crisis in Eastern Europe.
Another subplot in the shutdown crisis was the influence of a small group of hardline Republicans who opposed various temporary funding proposals, pressing for deeper spending cuts. This group of 21 hardliners had threatened to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy if a stopgap measure they opposed was passed with Democratic support. Observers in Washington had been anticipating a potential challenge to McCarthy's leadership in the coming weeks. McCarthy, however, expressed confidence in his future and the prospects of reaching a final agreement before the new mid-November deadline, extending an olive branch to the hardliners.
The government shutdown standoff has raised concerns in financial markets, coming just months after Congress teetered on the brink of defaulting on the nation's $31.4 trillion debt. Moody's, a credit rating agency, has warned that the situation could harm U.S. creditworthiness. Currently, Moody's assigns the U.S. government an "Aaa" rating with a stable outlook, the highest creditworthiness rating it provides to borrowers. This places Moody's as the last major agency to maintain such a rating, as Fitch downgraded the U.S. government's Aaa rating to AA+ in August, mirroring S&P Global's rating in 2011.
As the nation breathes a sigh of relief with the passage of the stopgap funding bill, all eyes are now on Congress to see if they can navigate the upcoming challenges and reach a more permanent funding solution before the next deadline approaches, while also addressing the pressing needs of Ukraine and safeguarding the nation's financial standing.
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