(Washington) The threat of a drying up of the US federal state’s finances at the end of the week was growing in the United States on Wednesday, as congressional officials have so far failed to agree on a budget which would avoid this very unpopular situation.
US parliamentarians have by Friday evening to agree on a new finance law if they want to avoid the sudden paralysis of federal services, nicknamed “shutdown”, which would force hundreds of thousands of employees on technical unemployment.
Departments but also national parks, certain museums and a multitude of organizations would be affected. The winter 2018 shutdown, the longest to date, notably affected baggage screening at airports.
Despite strong partisan divisions, most elected officials from both camps do not want this situation which risks causing havoc before the holidays.
But a handful of elected Republicans, most of them very close to Donald Trump, refuse for the moment to support this budget, arguing that it would help finance the establishment of vaccine obligations in the country, which they oppose.
In a statement, they urged their colleagues in the Senate on Wednesday to use “all the tools at their disposal” to prevent the passage of this temporary law, and thus put pressure on the Biden administration.
Many Democrats, who urgently need Republicans’ support to approve a new finance law by Friday, voiced their exasperation.
“It would be irresponsible to cripple our government as we step into winter and prepare for the effects of the Omicron variant – all in the name of fighting a vaccine requirement meant to increase vaccination rates and save lives.” , lambasted Virginia Senator Mark Warner.
It is certainly very common for last minute deals to be found on temporary budgets. But the situation was uncertain enough that several economists began to quantify the price of this blockage.
A week of “shutdown” would cost the US economy $ 6 billion, according to a note from the Oxford Economics Institute.