US Policy Watch: No Shutdown but are we out of the woods yet?
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a short-term extension of the FY-2023 budget 3 days before the government was scheduled to shut down. The so-called Continuing Resolution (CR) was passed in a 336-95 vote. Two Democrats — Reps. Jake Auchincloss (Mass.) and Mike Quigley (Ill.) — and 93 Republicans opposed the bill. The CR has too been approved by the Senate, effectively eliminating the looming threat of a government shutdown.
The new CR proposed by House Speaker, Mike Johnson, has striking similarities with the CR that got former Speaker Kevin McCarthy ousted. It is a ‘clean’ CR meaning no spending cuts are attached to it – it even included an extension of further funding to farmers through the end of September next year.
There is one important difference between the Johnson and McCarthy CRs – which Johnson made sure to highlight numerous times…
The immediate shutdown threat has been averted, although the issue of war funding remains unresolved for President Biden. The question remains: is the political gridlock alleviated? Read our brief take below
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