US senators reached Sundayor an interim agreement to end the federal government shutdown, which has lasted for a record 40 days and forced numerous public services to paralyze.
President Donald Trump’s Republican lawmakers and opposition Democrats agreed to fund the federal government through January after disputes over health care subsidies, food benefits and the layoffs of federal employees. CNN and Fox News indicated.
The legislative measure quickly passed a procedural vote in the Senate, apparently with enough support from the Democrats. If the House of Representatives also approves the bill, the text will be presented to the president for enactment, a process that could take days.
This development raises hopes of a quick return to normality after hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or working without pay since October 1.
“It looks like we’re close to ending the shutdown,” Trump told reporters upon arriving at the White House after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
According to legislators, the agreement seeks fund food assistance program for 42 million Americans (one in eight), currently suspended. It also includes reversing the layoff of thousands of federal employees last month and putting a vote on extending health care aid, which expires at the end of the year.
The proposal “will protect federal officials from wrongful termination, reinstate those who were wrongfully fired during the shutdown, and ensure that federal officials receive back pay,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said in a statement.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer However, he regretted that the extension of health aid be the subject of a vote and not of direct adoption.
“This fight goes and must continue,” he declared in the Upper House.
Thanksgiving Concerns
Due to the impact of the government shutdown on air traffic control, more than 2,700 flights in the United States were canceled and 10,000 were delayed on Sunday, according to the FlightAware website.
Among the airports affected were Newark and LaGuardia in New Yorkthe O’Hare in Chicago and the Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.
Since Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US air transport regulator, has been asking airlines to gradually reduce their flights to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers, who work without pay.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that a Prolonged government shutdown would make the situation worsewith Thanksgiving approaching at the end of the month.
That weekend also kicks off the holiday shopping season, which many retailers depend on.
The return to the normal air traffic It could take days after the shutdown ends as federal funding, including salaries, needs time to reactivate.
Trump cited the budget stalemate, caused by disagreements between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as one of the reasons for the series of electoral defeats suffered by his party on November 4.
