The fiscal paralysis in the US, after more than 40 days of shutdown, appears to be coming to an end with the expected passage of a bill in Congress to break the deadlock.
A vote in the House of Representatives is expected shortly after 7:00 p.m. local time (2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, ET) on this budget bill, which has already been approved by the Senate.
The bill was passed Monday by a vote of 60 to 40, and extends the current budget through the end of January.
Republicans hold the majority in the House and despite stated opposition from Democrats, the bill is expected to pass.
Only the president’s signature will be needed to end the longest shutdown in the nation’s history, which began on Oct. 1.
After more than 40 days of stalemate over the budget, eight Democratic senators finally relented Monday, joining their Republican senators in approving a new bill that extends the previous budget through the end of January.
The bill, however, leaves unclear the extension of subsidies for Obamacare, the health insurance program for low-income households, much to the dismay of the party base and many Democratic elected officials.
Among the few concessions to the opposition, the bill provides for the reinstatement of federal employees laid off after the shutdown began.
It also includes funding for the SNAP food assistance program through September, preventing a freeze on that assistance, which benefits more than 42 million Americans, in the event of another government shutdown in late January, as happened during the current pay freeze.
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