President Donald Trump signed the bill on Wednesday night (12) that ends the longest shutdown in United States history, after 43 days of shutdown. The measure, approved hours earlier by the House of Representatives by 222 votes to 209, frees up resources to keep the government functioning until January 30th.
The text had already passed through the Senate on Monday, after a group of senators linked to the Democrats supported the advancement of the proposal, a move that broke the party’s strategy of making the reopening of the government conditional on the extension of health subsidies that expire at the end of the year. The incentives reduce the cost of health insurance for about 20 million Americans.
At the time of signing, Trump stated that “the Democrats tried to extort the country” and again defended the end of the rule of thumb. filibuster in the Senate, which requires 60 votes to approve budget resolutions. Surrounded by Republican leaders, he also said that the episode “can never be repeated”, citing more than 1 million servers affected and the interruption of essential services.
FREE TOOL
XP simulator
Find out in 1 minute how much your money can yield
What does the agreement say
The approved package guarantees full payment of back wages and reverses all layoffs carried out by the White House during the impasse. It also maintains funding for SNAP, the food assistance program used by 42 million Americans, an issue that reached the Supreme Court during the impasse.
The vote in the Chamber showed limited dissent in both parties. Only two Republicans voted against the proposal. In the Democratic camp, six parliamentarians supported the text, repeating the movement of senators who allowed the measure to advance at the beginning of the week.
Before the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the shutdown “useless and senseless”, blaming Democrats for prolonging the crisis. Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the opposition “spent 42 days voting to keep the government closed” by insisting on the subsidy requirement.
Continues after advertising
The agreement leaves the vote promised by Republicans in the Senate on the extension of health incentives until December. Without the extension, Democrats warn that millions of families could face steep increases in insurance premiums.
Longest shutdown in history
The strike, which began on October 1, affected critical areas of the government, caused delays in flights, suspended the publication of economic indicators and interrupted services in museums and national parks. According to estimates cited in Congress, previous shutdowns cost more than $300 million in administrative overtime, lost revenue and fines.
The expectation is that employees will resume work this Thursday (13), following guidance from the Office of Management and Budget. The Department of Transport also confirmed the suspension of the plan that would have extended flight cuts due to a lack of air traffic controllers.
(com Wall Street Journal)
