The longest record government shutdown in United States history (43 days) has officially came to an end. On Wednesday, November 12th, the House approved the Senate-passed funding package, and President Trump signed the bill into law. The legislation is extending funding for most agencies until January 30th and this includes three bills that will fund other parts of the government through September 30th. The Senate approved the legislation on Monday, where seven Democrats and one independent who associates with the Democratic party, joined the Republicans to end the standoff within the upper chamber. Six House Democrats crossed the aisle and voted to reopen the government.
The government reopened this Thursday morning as many workers returned back to work and agencies ramped up normal operations. Back pay for some federal employees will begin going out as early as Sunday, according to a memo from the White House budget office. The others will have to wait until Wednesday, November 19th. The funding battle will begin to tee up a fresh fight over health care tax credits under the Affordable Car Act, which will expire at the end of this year. Millions of people across the U.S. are set to see their premiums spike without action from the Congress, and Senate Democrats secured a vote on the issue by mid-December as part of the deal that ended the the Shutdown.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-trump-signs-funding-federal-agences-opening/
3 comments:
It's a huge relief to see the shutdown finally end, especially given the wide-ranging ripple effects that had occurred after 43 days. It's interesting that the deal only pushes funding through January, so that we could be right back in the same position in a few months. What I'm most curious about is the next fight over health-care tax credits, because premium spikes would hit households way faster than most people expect. It feels like this resolution has fixed the immediate crisis, but the bigger political and economic pressures are still looming behind it.
Hopefully, the Democrats and Republicans can come to an agreement in the future for affordable health care that won't take 43 days. I wonder what will happen after January 30th when the funding is up again. With a shutdown this long, I wonder how many families suffered from this? Will federal employees who kept working during the shutdown be compensated more for their commitment?
This was a great breakdown. Do you know more about the vote, and how it will likely be decided?
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