The United States is on the brink of its fourth partial government shutdown in a decade if Congress fails to strike a deal before the deadline at midnight local time. The two chambers are proposing conflicting funding bills, and the government is preparing for backup plans that could result in worker furloughs, especially in areas such as air transport.
In the Senate, Democrats are discussing a stop-gap bill to extend federal spending until mid-November. Meanwhile, in the Republican-controlled House, various bills are under consideration, including a $120 billion reduction from the previously agreed upon discretionary spending level and stricter immigration laws at the Mexican border.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has rejected putting the Senate's Bill to a vote and insisted on negotiations going down to the wire. An associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, John Aenar, believes that a government shutdown is inevitable at this point. He attributes this to the stances presented by the speaker of the house, who is unwilling to consider the stop-gap funding bill coming from the Senate.
In the event of a government shutdown, the Republican Party typically suffers the most due to public perception. Ratings agencies Moody's and Fitch have warned that a shutdown could damage the federal government's creditworthiness. The economic impact of a shutdown would affect the US Federal government's ability to borrow money cheaply, which would have a cascading effect on the US Securities and Exchange activity.
1. The US is on the brink of its fourth partial government shutdown in a decade.
2. If a congress fails to strike a deal before the deadline tomorrow at midnight, the two Chambers are proposing conflicting funding bills.
3. The government is getting ready for backup plans that could result in worker furlows, including in areas such as Air transport.
4. In the Republican controlled house, there are various bills in consideration including a $120 billion reduction from the previously agreed upon discretionary spending level.
5. Stricter immigration laws at the Mexican border are also being considered.
6. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has rejected putting the Senate's Bill to a vote and insisted for negotiations to go down to the wire.
7. Congress has less than two days to reach a deal, and a government shutdown is inevitable at this point.
8. There is no clear option to avert the shutdown, largely due to the stances presented by the speaker of the house, who is unwilling to consider the stop Gap funding bill coming from the United States Senate.
9. The Senate to date has not passed any of the roughly 10 to 12 Appropriations bills that typically fund the United States federal government.
10. The likelihood that they can craft even a stop Gap funding bill within a couple of days does not seem likely.
11. The political party that has suffered the most with government shutdowns has been the Republican Party.
12. Ratings agencies Moody's and Fitch have warned that a shutdown could damage the federal government's creditworthiness.
13. The economic impact of a shutdown would affect the United States Federal government's ability to borrow money cheaply.
14. This would have a cascading effect on the US Securities and Exchange activity, as some borrowers might be less likely to invest in federal government securities.
15. The polarization in American politics is not just bad in terms of policy but it's also bad in terms of the US economy, both shortterm and longterm.