A partial shutdown has begun in the US due to a delay in voting in the House of Representatives.
In the United States, a partial shutdown began on Saturday, 31 January, as Congress failed to finalise a deal on government funding. The day before, the US Senate supported a package of bills to fund federal agencies until the end of the fiscal year. Seventy-one senators voted in favour, while 29 voted against, according to ABC News.
At the same time, according to Reuters, the US House of Representatives plans to put the document to a vote no earlier than Monday, 2 February. Due to this pause, some government agencies were forced to temporarily suspend their work.
The bipartisan agreement reached stipulates that funding for the US Department of Homeland Security will be separated from the overall package and extended for only two weeks. During this time, lawmakers must agree on additional Democratic demands regarding the activities of federal immigration services, in particular restrictions on ICE agents. The rest of the agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Labour, are to receive funding until September.
The shutdown is not expected to last long. After the vote in the House of Representatives, the bills must be signed by Donald Trump.
This is not the first such scenario for the United States. The previous shutdown in the autumn lasted a record 43 days and is estimated to have cost the economy about $11 billion. At that time, approximately 750,000 civil servants, with the exception of life support services, were sent on forced unpaid leave. In total, since 1977, the country has seen 10 short breaks in funding lasting up to three days, most of which had no significant consequences.
