The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday that would avert a midnight Government shutdown, defying president-elect Donald Trump’s demand to also give the go-ahead to trillions of dollars in new debt.
The House voted 366-34 to approve the Bill, the day after rejecting Mr Trump’s debt ceiling demand.
The Democratic-controlled Senate will also need to pass the Bill to advance it to US President Joe Biden, who the White House said would sign it into law to ensure the US Government will be funded beyond midnight on Saturday, when current funding expires.
The legislation would extend Government funding until March 14th, provide $100 billion for disaster-hit states and $10 billion for farmers. However, it would not raise the debt ceiling – a difficult task that Mr Trump has pushed Congress to carry out before he takes office on January 20th.
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A Government shutdown would disrupt everything from law enforcement to national parks and suspend salaries for millions of federal workers. A travel industry trade group warned that a shutdown could cost airlines, hotels and other companies $1 billion a week and lead to widespread disruptions during the busy Christmas season. Authorities warned that travellers could face long lines at airports.
The package resembled a bipartisan plan that was abandoned earlier this week after online criticism from Mr Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who said it contained too many unrelated provisions. Most of those elements were struck from the Bill – including a provision limiting investments in China that Democrats said would conflict with Mr Musk’s interests there.
“He clearly does not want to answer questions about how much he plans to expand his businesses in China and how many American technologies he plans to sell,” Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro said on the House floor.
Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, has been tasked by Mr Trump to head a budget-cutting taskforce but holds no official position in Washington.
The Bill also left out Mr Trump’s demand to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, which was resoundingly rejected by the House – including 38 Republicans – on Thursday.
The federal Government spent roughly $6.2 trillion last year and has more than $36 trillion in debt, and Congress will need to act to authorise further borrowing by the middle of next year.
Representative Steve Scalise, the No 2 House Republican, said lawmakers had been in touch with Mr Trump but did not say whether he supported the new plan. – Reuters
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