Government Shutdown Narrowly Avoided
The United States Government Just Barely Kept Itself Running
Will there be a government shutdown? If you have seen the news you may have heard this question most media outlets are asking. So what is the answer? What could a shutdown entail? Why is this happening?
Well, before the start of every fiscal year, which for the U.S. government is October 1st, Congress passes appropriation bills, and then sends them to the president to sign in order to fund government departments and agencies for the following year. However, when members of Congress fail to pass these bills, the government shuts down causing a furlough of some federal workers and closing of non-essential functions until Congress approves funding.
As the October 1st deadline approached, Democrats put together a bill to not only fund the federal government but also to tackle another issue, the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is the limit to the amount of money our government can borrow.
When the Democrat’s bill went through the Senate on Monday, September 27th, Senate Republicans blocked it. The Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) did not want to increase the debt ceiling to dissuade Democrats from increasing federal spending.
As discussions went on, and fear of a possible government shutdown grew, Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement. That agreement being a short-term appropriations bill that did not raise the debt ceiling, but would keep the government funded through December 3rd. Hours before the deadline on September 30th, the Senate with a 65-35 vote, and the House with a 254-174 vote, passed the bill which was then signed by President Biden.
