On local time November 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a temporary federal government funding bill previously approved by the Senate, marking a critical step toward ending the longest government "shutdown" in U.S. history.
White House spokesperson Caroline Levet said that President Trump has the chance to sign the bill by the evening of the 12th, allowing the government to resume full operations.
The White House website showed that as of November 12, Eastern Time, this shutdown had lasted for 43 days.
According to CNN, the House of Representatives conducted a final vote on a short-term funding bill on the evening of the 12th, and it was passed with 222 votes in favor and 209 against. The passage of the bill ended a political deadlock that had lasted six weeks due to strong Republican opposition to a "Obamacare" plan.
According to the bill's content, the federal government will receive temporary funding, ensuring that most government agencies can continue operating until January 30, 2026.
Although the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is about to end, Bloomberg reported that the full resumption of federal government agencies may still take several days or more.
The report pointed out that salary systems of federal agencies need to be updated to pay back wages not paid during the shutdown; at the same time, there are also accumulated issues such as fund disbursement, loan applications, and customer service cases that need to be addressed. In addition, there are large backlogs in environmental permit approvals, workplace inspections, and government contract approvals, which require gradual clearance. Many government agencies may not start resuming operations until this Friday (14th) or next Monday (17th).
Previously, due to the Senate failing to pass a new temporary funding bill before the government's funds ran out, the U.S. federal government fell into a shutdown starting October 1. On the night of November 10, the Senate passed the bill with 60 votes in support and 40 against, laying the foundation for the final vote in the House of Representatives.
It is understood that the U.S. Congress needs to pass 12 annual funding bills each year. The bill passed by the Senate only includes three of these funding bills, meaning that the remaining nine annual funding bills have not been finalized. During the period when the temporary funding bill is in effect, both parties will continue negotiations on the annual funding. If the remaining funding is not completed before the temporary funding expires, the federal government may face the risk of a "shutdown" again in the future.
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