“The House of Representatives of the US Congress late on Wednesday passed a bill on the temporary funding of the government, which should end the longest shutdown in the history of the country. The document has already been sent to President Donald Trump for signature.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: Reuters, Politico
Details: Late last night, the House of Representatives voted on a government funding package that was the result of months of bipartisan negotiations in Congress. The bill passed by a vote of 222 to 209. Just a few Democrats broke the party line by supporting the bill to end the government shutdown.
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Deputies returned to Washington after a 54-day break to vote on the document agreed in the Senate. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation by the end of the day, officially ending the shutdown.
The package includes three major bills: annual funding for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as military construction and congressional work bills.
Democrats largely opposed the package because it did not extend expanded tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which expire at the end of the year, and would raise insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans.
Under the terms of the deal in the Senate, Democrats will have the right to put the subsidy extension to a vote in mid-December, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has not guaranteed a similar vote in the lower chamber.
That has sparked outrage among Democrats in the lower house, who believe their Senate colleagues have ceded their main leverage on the issue.
Even so, six Democratic congressmen joined Republicans to end the shutdown. They include Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Glusenkamp Perez (Washington), Adam Gray (California), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Tom Suozzi (New York) and Don Davis (North Carolina).
As Gray explained, support for the bill allows poor and working families to receive vital assistance programs, including SNAP, which provides food subsidies.
The bill would extend funding for the federal government through Jan. 30, 2026, leaving the country on track to increase the national debt to $38 trillion.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, public opinion was split on responsibility for the shutdown, with 50 percent of Americans blaming Republicans for the situation, while 47 percent placed the blame on Democrats.