RUSSIA (Washington Insider Magazine) – Has the United States narrowly avoided a governmental shutdown days before Russia began their incursion into Ukraine?
Last week, President Biden recently signed a short-term governmental allocation bill to help avoid a possible shutdown. This measure ended up passing late last week through the Senate and has enabled the government to continue functioning through March 11th. This truly came in the 11th hour, as the final deadline for a budget submission was 24 hours after this bill was passed.
This bill is currently a temporary measure as legislators continue to scramble to find a budget that would accommodate their spending needs. This could prove to be more complicated due to Russian-Ukrainian tensions which could increase war and defense spending.
Currently, the period of concern is from late March through September 30th, as that will be the date when the government will have additional funding for its normal functions. Currently, appropriators are determining details of a previously announced framework that will shape the future of long-term governmental spending.
This wouldn’t be the first time that the United States government has been facing the threat of a shutdown. The last recorded formalized shutdown was under the presidency of former President Donald Trump, and it lasted from December 22nd, 2018 to January 19th, 2019. Over those 35 days, many were furloughed and the economy suffered a downturn due to the lack of governmental activity.
There have been several threats and talks of a shutdown, but none formally imposed since that last instance in 2019.
When possible, the American government works to avoid a shutdown. These may often happen as a result of a disagreement between lawmakers surrounding budgetary allocations and other core issues.
When shutdowns occur, there are widespread and significant economic and governmental effects. Generally, shutdowns may result in federal workers being furloughed. This can be amplified in instances of long-term shutdowns. It can also result in the temporary shutdown of necessary social services and programs, affecting the American people in a large-scale way.
Shutdowns also have the potential to significantly impact the health of the U.S. economy. This is part of the reason why Congress has fought against several scares through September, as inflation and costs continued to skyrocket. In instances of untimely risks of the shutdown, officials may consider using a continuing resolution, which allows the government to operate as it did using previously approved budgets and allocations.
This is an especially helpful measure if the shutdown is due to the inability of lawmakers to agree on allocations, and can help mitigate the risks and consequences of this on the American people.
The conjecture states that this was considered at this time due to the midterms elections in the United States, and the increasing risks of war and tension occurring globally between Russia and Ukraine, as well as with Russia and fellow NATO allies. Additional budgetary meetings may be held and ruled on if war progresses between Russia, NATO allies, and Ukraine, as the United States may have to take a larger role in the dispute.
