An agreement in principle to unlock the public lock and put an end to the shutdown arrived at USA after contacts of Republican and Democratic Senators.
In the early hours, a big step was taken to end the longest shutdown in the US. The development came after eight centrist Democratic senators reached an agreement with the Republican leadership and the White House, which provides for the opening of the government in exchange for a future vote to expand Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies.
Senators, Republicans and some Democrats, they made a temporary agreement, which will keep the federal government funded through January, according to CNN and Fox News reports.
The 60-40 vote cleared the way for the spending deal to move through Congress to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Trump to end the shutdown.
Among those voting in favor of the plan were Democrats Dick Durbin, Kathryn Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Jean Sahin, Tim Kaine, Jackie Rosen and independent Angus King. On the contrary, Republican Rand Paul was the lone vote against the proposal on the GOP side.
That fact could cause trouble for Democrats, as Dick Durbin, the caucus’s vice chairman, differentiated himself from the party leadership in order to break the impasse.
The agreement, however, does not mean an immediate end to the shutdown, and this is because every senator has the right to delay the process by several days.
In addition, the House of Representatives should return from suspension to approve the same packagebefore it reaches President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.
Based on the agreement, Congress will approve funding to some ministries and also provide for the payment of back wages to public employees who were placed on mandatory leave. At the same time, state payments to states and local authorities will also be restarted and the return of employees who were fired after the unprecedented shutdown in the country.