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House Democrats released the text of a short-term federal budget bill on Tuesday to avoid the partial government shutdown which includes a provision to suspend the debt limit and allocates billions of dollars to efforts to relocate Afghan refugees and for natural disaster relief following the recent hurricanes and wildfires, according to CBS News.
The bill of 93 pages , known as continuous resolution, maintains the current federal funding levels through December 3 and includes a debt limit suspension through December 2022 .
If approved by the House and Senate, legislators would avoid two fiscal crises they face in the coming weeks: a partial government shutdown and the nation’s debt default, that administration officials of Joe Biden warned that it would have catastrophic economic consequences.
The legislation also provides $ 30. $ 6 billion in disaster aid to deal with recent hurricanes, wildfires and droughts, as well as other natural disasters , and $ 6.3 billion to support relocation efforts of Afghans who fled Kabul after the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.
mind this legislation to support critical education, health, housing and public safety programs and provide emergency aid to disaster survivors and Afghan evacuees, ”said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro , Democrat from Connecticut who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, told reporters that she anticipates that the House will vote Tuesday on the continuing resolution that keeps the government in operation and prevents its partial closure .
The House Rules Committee met Tuesday to set the parameters for the debate on the federal budget measure on the floor of the Chamber.
The House of Representatives and the Senate returned to Washington on Monday after a recess week and were immediately faced with a long list of legislative tasks and rapidly approaching deadlines.
It is anticipated that the government budget expire on 30 September, and if Congress does not pass a funding bill before the end of the month, there will be a partial government shutdown as the country continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of the T Esoro also estimates that the federal government’s borrowing authority will expire in October, and congressional inaction would lead the United States to default on its debts, the Biden administration warned.
But it seems unlikely that the legislative package can pass the Senate in its current form. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has repeatedly said that Democrats will not get help from the Republicans to raise the debt limit.