Senate Clears 60-40 Procedural Vote on Sunday, Raising Hopes of Ending the Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON — The federal government shutdown took a turn toward resolution over the weekend. The Senate, meeting in a rare Sunday session on November 8, voted 60 to 40 on a procedural motion that clears a key hurdle toward ending a shutdown that has lasted nearly 40 days. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate would remain in session until the government reopens.
Under the bipartisan deal, Congress would pass a stopgap measure funding the government through January 30, alongside three full-year appropriations bills covering agriculture, military construction and veterans affairs, and the legislative branch. The package would also restore the jobs of federal workers fired during the shutdown, provide back pay, and bar further federal workforce reductions before January 30.
The eight non-Republican senators voting yes were Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and independent Angus King of Maine. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican voting no.
Thune also pledged a vote by the second week of December on extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats' central demand in the standoff. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted no, calling the impasse a Republican-made health care crisis and warning that premiums for millions of Americans are set to surge.
The Senate must still complete further votes, and the bill must then pass the House and be signed by the president. House members have been told they may need to return to Washington within 36 hours. If the process holds, the government could reopen this week, with shuttered services, back pay for federal workers, and disrupted flights and food assistance gradually returning to normal.
Source: U.S. Senate
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons：United States Capitol - west front.jpg（美国国会大厦）
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