The US government fiscal year that begins on 1 Oct might risk a shutdown yet again, if both House and Senate could not pass the essential spending bills.
Last week, the White House called on Congress to pass the short-term stopgap resolution. Senators from both Democrats and Republicans are pushing 12 separate spending bills with the $1.59 trillion budget which is crucial for fiscal year 2024 starting in October.
Meanwhile, some hardline conservative House Republicans still push for more cuts on defense spending. They set the ceiling at $1.47 trillion in order to address the $31.4 trillion national debt. That might lengthen the process and force the government financial shutdown again for the 4th time in a decade.
“All sides must work together in good faith without engaging in extremist or all-or-nothing tactics,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said of the looming negotiations between the Senate and House on those 12 bills.
The strongly bipartisan effort by the Senate Appropriations Committee, Schumer added, “sets a good template (for) how things should work in Congress.”
