US government shuts down as Congress fails to vote on budget
The US government has shut down again after Congress failed to pass a
key budgetary measure on time. Lawmakers had hoped to approve a new
spending bill before federal funding expired at midnight.
But Republican Senator Rand Paul ended hopes for a quick vote when he
demanded a debate in the chamber on his amendment to maintain spending
caps. In January, a similar failure to pass a bill led to a three-day
government shutdown.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives need to approve the
new two-year spending deal. The shutdown was essentially guaranteed an
hour before the deadline, when the Senate voted for a recess until
00:01.
Despite the delays, the Senate is due to vote on the budgetary
measure after 01:00. The House will not vote on the deal until the
Senate approves it.
It is not yet clear how Congress will proceed and how public services
may be affected on Friday. The latest deal would raise spending caps by
about $300bn (£215bn) - something which Senator Paul insisted he could
not support.
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