Biden sanctions draft that avoids a US government shutdown

The text approved by Congress guarantees 47 days of operation of federal services, until final funding is issued

US President Joe Biden approved a temporary US government funding project on Saturday evening (September 30, 2023). The text was approved on the same day by Congress and avoided the country’s federal agencies being paralyzed by lack of resources.

“I just signed a law to keep the government running for 47 days. There is plenty of time to pass government funding bills for the coming fiscal year, and I strongly urge Congress to get to work immediately.“, Biden wrote in a post dated X.

If the law is not approved by Saturday (September 30), the US government will take effect close. Federal government employees will be furloughed and asked not to come to work. Employees in essential sectors, such as security, will continue to work, but will not receive their wages.

The deadline dates back to the beginning of the fiscal year in the USA, which always occurs on October 1st.

“close”

In 1884, the US government enacted the Anti-Deficit Act – prohibiting federal agencies from spending more than permitted without congressional approval.

Therefore, the legislative authority must pass 12 appropriation laws annually to finance all public spending. If this is not done, the sectors whose expenditures have not been approved will stop close.

Since 1976, when the United States moved the start of the fiscal year to October 1, the government has shut down 21 times. Among these events, the most important years were 1995, 2013 and 2018.

The latest strike occurred under former President Donald Trump’s government and was the longest to that point: it lasted 34 days. Read more in this report.