The United States is heading toward a budget shutdown. Democratic senators have agreed to reject the Republican Continuing Resolution (CR) passed in the House of Representatives, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced.
The impending shutdown will result in a freeze on all federal spending in the US administration. Hundreds of thousands of civil servants will have to stay home with pay, while others will have to continue working without pay.
Schumer, a Democratic senator from New York, instead introduced a new proposal that does not seek a six-month extension of the existing budget with minor changes, but provides for administrative business for just 30 days. If no deal is reached, the shutdown would begin Friday night.
The six-month proposal in the House of Representatives passed Tuesday by a vote of 217 to 213 along party lines. Although Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the 100-member Senate, 60 representatives must agree for the proposal to even be put to a vote. Because of Schumer's announced blockade, that will no longer happen.
However, Senate Democrats are standing united behind their proposal, which ensures “that the administration remains open and Congress has enough time to negotiate a bill that both parties agree to,” Schumer said. That option would also require the House of Representatives to pass it again to avoid a shutdown, but its Republican representatives have already returned to their constituencies in Washington after Tuesday’s vote to put more pressure on the Senate.
The upcoming negotiations on the next regular budget are also considered difficult, because Republicans are demanding radical cuts and may also want to cut social benefits. Because of their minorities in both houses of Congress, the temporary budget blockade is a rare parliamentary opportunity for Democrats to express their protest against the Republicans. (A2 Televizion)
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