Key hurdle cleared to avert govt shutdown

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers approved a stopgap bill on Tuesday to keep the government open as its funding runs out, greatly reducing the threat of a painful shutdown that would leave government workers without pay over Thanksgiving and Congress unable to address crises in Ukraine and Israel.

With the US Capitol paralyzed by infighting for much of its latest session, neither the Democratic-led Senate nor the Republican House of Representatives passed 2024 budgets for the various federal departments by the deadline of Friday midnight into Saturday.

The House approved a bill that essentially puts off the problem until January 2024, a presidential election year, but the majority of Republicans needed help from Democrats amid a rebellion among conservatives irritated by the temporary fix.

The so-called laddered continuing resolution now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to get a smoother ride, giving lawmakers precious extra weeks for a broader debate on funding the government for the full year.

Worried strategists in Congress and the White House have been outlining the stakes for weeks: a shutdown would mean the world's largest economy pumping the brakes from Saturday, with up to 1.5 million public servants sent home without pay, days before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Most federal facilities would close and the air traffic control system could be curtailed, snarling Thanksgiving travel plans.

The stopgap bill approved by the House includes none of the policy priorities or drastic spending cuts the Republican right flank is pushing for, but more than 90 "no" votes from conservatives were canceled out by wide support from Democrats.

Budget votes in Congress regularly turn into a standoff, with one party using the prospect of a shutdown to seek concessions from the other, usually without success.

This one was seen as the first major test of new House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership, after allies of former president Donald Trump, furious that their leadership had reached a deal with President Joe Biden to extend funding, successfully moved to oust Johnson's predecessor Kevin McCarthy last month.

Agencies Via Xinhua