(Washington) US Congressional leaders announced Sunday a funding agreement for a large portion of the federal budget that both chambers will attempt to pass before a deadline set this week.
“It’s good news that Congress has finally reached a bipartisan agreement on the first six government funding bills that will keep the government functioning,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
Congressional leaders agreed on a $460 billion package of measures which must still be voted on in the Senate and the US House of Representatives.
“Time is now running out as government funding expires on Friday,” Schumer warned. “The House of Representatives must therefore quickly adopt and send this bipartisan agreement to the Senate.”
A delay in one of the two chambers could lead to a temporary closure of many administrations and public services, what Americans call a “shutdown”.
The list of potential consequences is long: unpaid air traffic controllers, shut down administrations, frozen food aid, unmaintained national parks.
This bipartisan agreement was welcomed by both camps.
The leader of the Republican elected representatives in the House of Representatives Mike Johnson estimated that it had made it possible to win “key conservative victories” and to impose “strong cuts” to certain federal spending.
For her part, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Patty Murray stressed that Democratic negotiators had succeeded in “blocking countless Republican measures”, citing in particular “their efforts to restrict the right to abortion”.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to address both houses of Congress on March 7 for his State of the Union address, a traditional major policy address by presidents to the US Congress.