(Washington) The elected representatives of the American House of Representatives adopted part of the 2024 budget of the United States on Wednesday, which should help avoid an imminent partial paralysis of the federal state, on the eve of the state speech of Joe Biden’s Union.
This $467.5 billion spending program was adopted by 339 votes to 85, and the Senate now has until Friday at midnight to vote in turn, and thus avoid paralysis.
Several departments, including Agriculture, Justice, Interior and Environment, Commerce and Transport, would then see their budgets secured until the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2024.
But this vote comes more than five months late, since the fiscal year began on 1er october. In question, political battles led by elected officials from the most right-wing fringe of Republicans, close to Donald Trump.
Paralysis – the famous “shutdown” – has thus far been avoided, but each time at the last minute.
The part of the budget adopted on Wednesday had itself been postponed only a week ago, to avoid the partial paralysis which loomed due to lack of agreement before the 1er March at midnight. This was the fourth time since October that the deadline had been postponed.
Despite this vote, the threat of a “shutdown” has not been lifted in the short term, because this text covers less than a third of all expenditure, and the other part of the budget expires. on March 22, and includes sensitive topics, such as border security.
The world’s largest economy therefore now operates through a series of mini-laws, each time adopted at the last minute, to extend the budget by a few days, weeks or months.
As soon as one of these mini-budgets is about to expire, as was to be the case for one of them on Friday, the risk arises that the federal administration will be partially shut down, what the Americans call the “shutdown”.
The list of potential consequences is long: unpaid air traffic controllers, shut down administrations, frozen food aid, unmaintained national parks, etc.
These deep disagreements illustrate the dysfunctions within the American institutional apparatus.
And US President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union address on Thursday, the traditional major general policy address by presidents to the US Congress.
It will be of particular importance in this election year, two days after “Super Tuesday”, primaries of the two parties in many states. After the overwhelming victories of Joe Biden on the Democratic side, and Donald Trump on the Republican side, the two men should, barring any major surprises, face each other in the November presidential election.