The American elected representatives of Congress adopted on Wednesday a text which allows the financing of the government budget until December, and avoids a “shutdown”, this paralysis of federal services, almost a month before the American election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The House and then the Senate both approved the deal Wednesday afternoon, which keeps the government operating at current spending levels through Dec. 20. They had until Sept. 30 to agree on budgets for fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1. After that, federal agencies would have been left unfunded just five weeks before a tight Nov. 5 election.
“Americans can breathe easy because both sides have chosen” to work together, Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said in a statement. “We will prevent vital government services from being needlessly disrupted,” he added.
The bill had stalled in the House of Representatives, where hard-line Republicans had been demanding for weeks that any budget be tied to another piece of legislation, the “Save Act,” which was added under pressure from Donald Trump. That bill would require voters to prove their U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. The former president and candidate continues to claim without evidence that he was the victim of voter fraud in 2020.
Project abandoned
But the bill was shelved because it lacked support from Republicans — many of whom oppose temporary funding bills on principle — and because it lacked Democratic support. President Joe Biden’s administration, concerned that the bill would deter some voters from casting ballots, opposed it, noting that noncitizen voting is already illegal.
In addition, the shutdown worried Republican lawmakers who control the House, as they seek re-election on November 5. They thus rejected the former president’s request – a rare thing – by adopting the funding bill without the Save Act.
The bill passed Wednesday includes more than $230 million for the Secret Service to increase protection around Donald Trump – who has faced two assassination attempts – and other candidates on the campaign trail. It is the last piece of legislation in Congress before the election.
