The $1.2 trillion text was adopted at the last minute, and makes it possible to avoid the “shutdown” by financing federal services in the United States until September.
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A spectacle with an air of déjà vu. At the last minute, American senators adopted a federal government funding text of $1.2 trillion to avoid the “shutdown”, the paralysis of public services, on Saturday March 23.
“It wasn’t easy, but our perseverance was worth it”, declared the Democratic leader of the US Senate Chuck Schumer, after hours of intense negotiations with the Republicans. The tension on the subject is such that the United States failed to adopt a complete budget for 2024, favoring the adoption of mini-budgets expiring after a few weeks.
Measures related to foreigners and immigration
If finally passed, the bill would extend the US budget until the end of the fiscal year, September 30. Some of the agencies and ministries have already obtained funding via an agreement reached on March 8.
It contains measures that would have strong repercussions abroad, such as banning all direct funding from the United States to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees targeted by accusations from Israel. It also contains hundreds of millions of dollars for Taiwan, but does not release any funding for Ukraine, which is the subject of separate negotiations.
The text also contains several measures related to immigration, an explosive subject in the middle of the presidential campaign, and a litany of provisions not necessarily linked to the budget. For example, the ban on American embassies from flying the rainbow flag, the standard of the LGBT+ community.
