The US Senate has approved a compromise bill that would end the longest government shutdown in history and end weeks of inaction that has cut food aid programs for millions of Americans, affected air travel and left hundreds of thousands of government employees without pay, Reuters reports.
The bill was supported by almost all Republicans and eight Democrats. Democrats have unsuccessfully tried to attract government funding for health care subsidies, which are set to end at the end of the year. An agreement has been reached to vote on the health care subsidies in December, but that does not mean they will be funded. 24 million Americans use the subsidies for health care.
The bill would restore funding to government agencies and delay President Donald Trump’s planned federal workforce cuts, postponing any layoffs until the 30th of January. The bill now faces a vote in the Republican-led House of Representatives, and Speaker Mike Johnson said he would like to pass the bill as early as the 12th of November and send it to Trump for signature.
After Democrats won elections in New Jersey and Virginia and elected a Democrat as mayor of New York,
many in the party are angry about the bill moving forward.
They have said there is no guarantee that the Republican-controlled Senate or House of Representatives will agree to continue funding for health insurance subsidies.
The Democratic representative, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, said he wanted to do more, and the government shutdown seemed like a good opportunity to make better policies, but it didn’t happen. A poll taken in late October found that 50% of Republicans blamed the shutdown, while 43% blamed Democrats.
Trump has single-handedly cut billions of dollars in spending and cut federal government pay, marking his encroachment on Congress’ authority.
While the bill would not eliminate Trump’s interference in spending, it would provide funding for the food assistance program through the 30th of September.
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