Leaders of the Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement on Sunday on US government spending. This means that the US Congress is one step closer to preventing a ‘shutdown’, a shutdown of the federal government, write American media. It is still uncertain whether it can be incorporated into concrete legislation in time.
The core of the agreement is a limit of around 1,660 billion dollars (1,520 billion euros) for part of government expenditure, including 886 billion dollars (810 billion euros) for defense. In addition to this $1.6 trillion, the US government spends another $4 trillion annually, mainly on social security, which is determined in a different way.
Some parts of the US government are depending on the money being released on January 19, others on February 2. If members of Congress do not agree on the precise details of the budget before the deadlines, parts of the government will close and civil servants will temporarily not be paid. The Senate and House of Representatives still have to vote on the agreements made on Sunday.
‘Total failure’
It is not yet clear whether the plans can count on a majority. Republicans are divided, according to reactions to the deal. While House Speaker Mike Johnson called the deal “the most favorable budget Republicans have achieved in more than a decade,” the far-right Freedom Caucus wrote on X: “America is headed for fiscal ruin.”
This group of extremely conservative Republicans is not numerically necessary to get the budget proposals through the House of Representatives, but has a lot of influence in the party. In October, the Freedom Caucus, along with Democrats, expelled then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
US President Joe Biden said in a declaration: “Republicans in Congress must do their job now and stop threatening to shut down the government.”
Last fall it almost came to a shutdown. That was averted with a temporary budget agreement, which is now about to expire. An additional package of 106 billion euros, including for military support to Ukraine, was also the subject of discussion at the time, but is not part of the budget laws that Congress must agree on in the coming weeks.
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