House Speaker McCarthy faces resistance from hardline Republicans as Senate vote looms
House Speaker McCarthy faces resistance from hardline Republicans as Senate vote looms
Washington DC — The US House of Representatives has voted and approved a Bill for temporary funding, which seeks to aid the government operate normally. The Bill includes disaster funds but has no aid for Ukraine.
The resolutions were proposed by the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. However, this received great resistance from hardline Republicans who command the chambers.
The Bill, nonetheless, requires the approval of the upper chamber, the Senate, before the president appends his signature.
Significantly, Democrats have a one member majority in the senate, which gives them an upper-hand in voting. The provision of US aid to Ukraine remains to be a contentious issue in the bill.
In an event that there will be no agreement, the fourth shutdown to take place over the past decade will commence and considerably affect government operations such as air travels to issuance of marriage licenses.
“Members say they only want to vote for individual bills, but they hold me up all summer and won’t let me bring individual bills up. Then they say they won’t vote for a stopgap measure that keeps government open,” said Mr. McCarthy.
Many Republicans have allayed fears of being blamed in case of the shutdown. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell admitted that he contends with several of the goals of the House Republicans, but he warned a shutdown will not attain any of them.
“Instead of producing any meaningful policy outcomes, it would actually take the important progress being made on a number of key issues and drag it backward,” said McConnell.
The United States funding package is due to expire on October 1, at the onset of the US federal government fiscal year.
Devoid of a new deal, thousands of federal workers across the nation are to be placed on unpaid leave, entailing members of the armed forces, air traffic control and those engaged in childcare centers.
“Anytime you have a stopgap situation like this, you have an opportunity to leverage,” “This is another opportunity. America does not want an open Southern border. The polls are crystal clear. It’s having a profound impact on us.” said Rep. Garret Graves, R-La.
This matter has caught the attention of White House, though, however, it has failed to weigh into the negotiations. President Joe Biden has urged House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to compromise with Democrats so that the Bill sails through.
“I think that the speaker is making a choice between his speakership and American interests,” said Biden.
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
