US Senate approves deal to end government shutdown

The United States Senate approved on Monday night (10) an agreement to end the longest federal government shutdown in the country’s history.

The text, approved by 60 votes to 40, restores funding for public agencies, reverses layoffs and guarantees retroactive payment of salaries to employees who were left without pay for 41 days.

The project now goes to the House of Representatives, where the vote should take place by Wednesday (12), according to the president of the House, Mike Johnson, Republican from Louisiana. President Donald Trump stated that he will sanction the text as soon as it reaches the White House.

“We are going to reopen the country very quickly,” said the Republican after approval in the Senate.

The bipartisan agreement combines three full budget projects — focused on Agriculture, Veterans Affairs (military) and Congress — with a provisional measure that guarantees the functioning of the rest of the federal administration until January 30.

The text also reestablishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as “food stamps”, which had suffered cuts during the lockdown, and prevents new layoffs until the end of January.

The vote had the support of eight Democratic senators and one independent, in addition to the Republican majority. The group broke with the guidance of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who opposed the bill because it did not include the extension of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), one of the party’s main demands.

“Republicans have refused to act to protect millions of Americans from rising health care costs,” Schumer declared.

The impasse over subsidies has dominated negotiations since the start of the shutdown on October 1st. Democrats were pushing for an automatic extension of benefits, which expire in December, while Republicans insisted on discussing the issue only after the government reopens.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said a specific vote on Obamacare credits will be held by mid-December, but with no guarantee of approval.

Among the Democrats who supported the text, the argument prevailed that it was necessary to end the strike to avoid greater harm to the population.

“We had reached a point where the lockdown did more harm than good. This was the only option available,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia also defended the agreement.

“We needed to end the suffering of SNAP employees and beneficiaries.”

The strike, which began on the first day of the new fiscal year, left around 800,000 civil servants without pay, caused delays and cancellations of flights due to a lack of air traffic controllers and led to the closure of national parks and museums.

Social programs were interrupted, and low-income families faced delays in receiving food aid. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the shutdown caused losses of US$20 to US$25 billion to the North American economy.

With the approval of the agreement, the government should gradually resume the functioning of agencies and normalize the payment of salaries and benefits by the end of the week.

The text marks the end of a period of strong political tension in Washington and opens a new front of dispute between Democrats and Republicans over the future of the healthcare system and control of the federal budget.