This week’s vote on funding is crucial in keeping the government running after September 30, when the fiscal year concludes.
As the deadline looms to raise the U.S. debt limit and fund the government before the end of the fiscal year, Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a stalemate that could result in a federal shutdown, the Associated Press reported. Democratic leaders announced Monday that they would move forward on both fronts with a vote while calling on their Republican counterparts to help the measures progress. « The American people expect our Republican colleagues to live up to their responsibilities and make good on the debts they proudly helped incur, » wrote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a statement. This week’s vote on funding is crucial in keeping the government running after September 30, when the fiscal year concludes, the AP reported. Raising the debt limit is also essential, and once a routine step in the U.S. government, but Republicans looking to regain the congressional majority in 2022 have opted to leave both jobs in the hands of Democrats who may or may not have the necessary votes. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. The funding package is expected to keep most spending at its current levels on a stopgap basis through the end of the year and include supplemental funds for the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters, as well as money to help defray the evacuations from Afghanistan. Tacking on legislative language to allow more borrowing to cover the nation’s debt payments through 2022 sets the stage for a showdown. The Treasury Department warned that it will soon run out of cash-on-hand, and have to rely on incoming receipts to pay its obligations, now at $28.4 trillion. That could force the Treasury to delay or miss payments, a devastating situation.
