(Washington) The elected members of the American Congress tried Monday to agree on a finance law to avoid, once again, the threat of a paralysis of the federal State.
Posted at 1:45 p.m.
This sudden drying up of the finances of the federal services would force hundreds of thousands of employees into technical unemployment. Ministries, but also national parks, certain museums and a multitude of organizations would be affected.
Despite the strong partisan divisions, most elected officials on both sides do not want this situation, which risks creating chaos.
But Democrats and Republicans are currently unable to agree to adopt a final budget for the year 2022. They are forced instead to extend, each time for a month or two, the current budget, adopted under the presidency of Donald Trump.
At the end of September, then in mid-December, Congress had thus avoided the threat of a “shutdown” in extremis by extending the 2021 budget. The next deadline is February 18, in 11 days.
In an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he expects a vote “this week” on another temporary budget extension, rather than a new budget bill. finance.
Passing a new budget rather than extending the current one would allow Democrats to allocate additional funds to many existing social programs. It would also give the Biden camp more time to push through its reforms, with the almost monthly negotiations over budget bills considerably slowing down all the other projects in the American Congress.