The threat of a federal government shutdown of USA It increased on Wednesday because lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement, with just two days to run out of funding.
Congress has until Friday night to draft a new budget to avoid a sudden halt to most of the federal government’s so-called “non-essential operations”, which would put hundreds of thousands of workers on unpaid leave.
Various administrative offices, national parks, museums and dozens of other services could no longer execute expenses as of the end of Friday.
During the winter 2018-2019 shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, of about five weeks, even airport security lines were affected.
Despite deep partisan divisions, most Republican and Democratic lawmakers hope to avoid a repeat of that scenario, which could wreak havoc before the end of the year holidays.
However, a handful of Republicans refuse to accept the budget, believing that it would contribute to the imposition of the president’s health policy Joe Biden against the pandemic.
In a statement Wednesday, the House Freedom Caucus called on senators to “use every procedural tool at their disposal to deny approval” of any budget agreement that funds vaccine mandates or their implementation.
Several Democrats expressed frustration at the stalemate, especially when the first case of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 in United States.
“As we approach winter and prepare for the effects of the new omicron variant, it would be remiss to shut down the government in the name of fighting a vaccination requirement designed to increase immunization rates and save lives,” the senator warned. Mark Warner from Virginia.
In recent years, budget deals in Congress have often been made at the last minute, but as concerns mount about possible missed deadlines, economists are raising more alarms about the possible consequences.
A closing week would cost the US economy about $ 6 billion, according to a report by the Oxford Economics group.
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