The US Senate has approved a compromise bill that would end the longest government shutdown in US history, breaking the long standoff that had disrupted the food aid for millions and left thousands of federal workers unpaid, while affecting the air traffic in the country.
The bill was approved after it received a 60 per cent in favour and 40 per cent against vote in the US Senate on Monday. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where a vote is expected as early as Wednesday, followed by President Donald Trump’s expected signature.
Even though the agreement has ended the stalemate, the continuation of subsidies benefiting 24 million Americans will be decided in the December voting. The deal would restore funding for federal agencies that lawmakers allowed to expire on October 1 and would stall President Donald Trump's campaign to downsize the federal workforce, preventing any layoffs until January 30.
However, the deal would extend funding through January 30, leaving the federal government for now on a path to keep adding about $1.8 trillion a year to its $38 trillion in debt.
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Earlier last week, Democrats won high-profile elections in New Jersey and Virginia, and a democratic socialist was elected as the next mayor of New York City. Many Democratic lawmakers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the deal, saying there is no guarantee that the Republican-controlled Senate or House would agree to extend the health insurance subsidies.
"We wish we could do more. The government shutdown seemed to be an opportunity to lead us to better policy. It didn’t work,” said Senator Dick Durbin. Trump, a couple of weeks ago, cancelled billions of dollars in spending and trimmed federal payrolls by laying off thousands of workers, overstepping his authority by refusing to seek approval from the US Congress.
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