The US administration has begun informing its workers of an imminent “shutdown” that would send millions of federal and military employees to their homes temporarily or make them work without pay, unless Congress reaches a final agreement on the budget.
The vote on the budget in Congress often turns into a confrontation in which one of the two parties, the Republican or the Democratic, uses the specter of a closure to extract concessions from the opponent, but these maneuvers usually fail.
Without reaching an agreement, funding for a large portion of the federal government will end at midnight on Saturday (04:00 GMT Sunday), threatening to disrupt all sectors. If the closure continues, it will deal another blow to the unstable American economy.
Four months after avoiding a catastrophic debt default, the world’s largest economy is once again on the brink of crisis, with the effects of the closure expected to begin to appear at the end of this week.
Republicans, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, were unable to pass the usual set of bills that determine departmental budgets for the next fiscal year, which begins Sunday, after their efforts were hampered by extremists in the party demanding major spending cuts.
Some federal employees have been informed of preparations for a “shutdown,” according to a notice seen by Agence France-Presse.
The US Capitol Building in Washington (Reuters)
The Ministry of Health warned in an email sent yesterday (Thursday) to employees that previously notified individuals will be temporarily subject to technical unemployment, “which means that they will not be allowed to work or use the ministry’s resources.” They will therefore have to wait until the end of the “lockdown” to receive their retroactive salaries.
The longest period of budget paralysis in the United States lasted 35 days, between December 2018 and January 2019.
However, services considered “essential” will continue. The only solution to avoid a shutdown is to reach a last-minute agreement between Democrats and Republicans.
The Ministry of Health will witness “a decrease in the number of employees in almost all departments throughout this period,” according to the details of the email received by employees. The ministry said, “Many of our core programs and activities will continue, but with a reduced number of employees.”
For her part, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that if paralysis occurs for only a few days, “our soldiers will be forced to continue working, but they will do so without pay (…) and thousands of their civilian colleagues will be in a period of unemployment.”
She added, “The closure is the worst situation, so we continue to demand that Congress do its job and fund the government.”
A computer screen shows a clock with a countdown of the time remaining before the US government shuts down (AP)
A closure would jeopardize the financial resources allocated to workers at national parks, museums and other federally funded sites, and could have serious political repercussions for President Joe Biden as he seeks to win a second term in the 2024 elections.
Regarding the transportation sector, the “shutdown” could have “devastating and dangerous” consequences, according to what the US Secretary of Transportation warned on Wednesday.
For her part, the spokeswoman for the International Monetary Fund said Thursday morning in a press conference that she believes that this situation is a “threat to the American economy that can be avoided.”
Julie Kozak added: “We encourage the parties to reach consensus on ways to finance the US government.”
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2023-09-29 15:23:25
