Joe Biden
President Joe Biden criticized extreme Republicans for the budget standoff that puts the US government a week away from shutting down, pushing lawmakers to fix the matter.
Biden remarked at a Congressional Black Caucus awards dinner that he and top House Republican Kevin McCarthy had previously agreed on federal spending levels.
“Now a small group of extreme Republicans don’t want to live up to the deal so now everyone in America could be forced to pay the price”, he warned.
US politicians have until midnight on September 30 to achieve an agreement on a spending measure before government financing runs out.
“Funding the government is one of Congress’s most fundamental responsibilities. It’s past time for Republicans to start performing the job that the American people elected them to do. Let’s get this done”, Biden continued.
A government shutdown would jeopardize the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of federal workers at national parks, museums, and other places, but it may also have serious political consequences for Biden, who is seeking re-election.
The White House wants Congress to include $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Kyiv in any budget plan they adopt.
While Democrats and Republicans in the Senate support such a scheme, several House members strongly oppose it.
The budget vote in Congress is frequently a standoff between the two parties, with each utilizing the threat of a government shutdown to extract concessions from the other – until a compromise is found at the last minute.
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