Source: BBC
A budget that would end the longest shutdown in US history is heading to the House of Representatives for a crunch vote on November 12.
On day 42 of the impasse, representatives are returning to Washington to decide whether to approve a Senate package that would fund federal agencies for two months.
Republican leadership expressed confidence the spending plan would clear the lower chamber of Congress, despite their narrow majority. But top Democrats vowed to oppose it.
President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign it into law. “We’re opening up our country,” he said on November 11 at a Veterans Day event in Arlington, Virginia. “Should have never been closed.”
The shutdown, which began on October 1, has left a million federal workers unpaid, halted food stamps for low-income Americans, and delayed air travel for flyers ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
With nearly 1 200 flights cancelled on November 11 as unpaid air traffic controllers call in sick because of the funding deadlock, lawmakers are finding other ways to reach Washington.
Congressman Rick Crawford of Arkansas posted on X that he was carpooling with a fellow Republican, Trent Kelly of Mississippi, to the nation’s capital.
Congressman Derrick Van Orden said he was riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle from his home state of Wisconsin.
“It’s going to be a little chilly,” he posted on X of the 16-hour trip. “But I will do my duty.”
The House Rules Committee advanced the bill in a procedural party-line vote by 8-4 in the early hours on November 12, capping a seven-hour session.
Republicans on the panel brushed aside Democratic amendments seeking to extend expiring health insurance subsidies — their main demand during the impasse.
The chamber is expected to reconvene at 16:00 EST (21:00 GMT) to hold one hour of debate on the legislation before a vote.
