The federal government was increasingly likely to enter its fourth shutdown in a decade on Sunday. Read more at straitstimes.com.
WASHINGTON - The US Senate on Tuesday was set to try to move forward on a bipartisan bill meant to stop thein just five days, while the House sought to push ahead with a conflicting measure backed only by Republicans.
The Senate measure would fund the government through Nov 17, and includes around US$6 billion for domestic disaster responses and another roughly US$6 billion in aid for Ukraine, according to a Senate aide. Meanwhile, House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday told reporters he would seek approval from his splintered Republicans on a bill that also would temporarily fund the government.
But hardliners to the right of Mr McCarthy have rejected that deal, demanding another US$120 billion in cuts. The standoff has caused concern at credit rating agency Moody’s, though it is unclear whether it will hurt US creditworthiness, as past shutdowns have not had a significant impact on the world’s largest economy.Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination,The cuts that hardliners are pushing for only account for a fraction of the total US budget, which will come to US$6.4 trillion for this fiscal year.