President Donald Trump’s threat not to sign a $ 2.3 trillion spending package approved by Congress has already shut down an emergency unemployment aid program and threatens a partial federal government shutdown to the midnight on Monday.
The bill provides $ 892 billion in coronavirus relief and $ 1.4 trillion to maintain regular government operations during the fiscal year.
Without Trump’s signature, Congress would have to pass an interim funding bill that it is willing to sign to keep federal agencies fully operational.
The Trump administration hasn’t said what it will do if the government runs out of money, but past lapses have led to tens of thousands of non-essential workers being laid off and others, including those dealing with public safety, being forced to work without paying.
Here’s what would likely happen if the White House and Congress can’t agree on a spending plan:
Pandemic financial assistance: The legislation would provide $ 600 stimulus checks to millions of struggling Americans. Trump, in one of his main criticisms of the bill, has said the payments are too small and has demanded that the checks be increased to $ 2,000.
Unemployment benefits paid to some 14 million Americans through pandemic programs expired on Saturday, but could be restarted if Trump signs the bill. The bill would hold benefits until mid-March.
The spending package also extends a moratorium on evictions that expires Dec. 31, updates support for small business payroll, provides funding to help schools reopen, and aid for the transportation industry and vaccine distribution. .
All aid programs are at risk unless an agreement can be reached.
Vaccine distribution: The federal government has already purchased 400 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, or enough for 200 million people, from Moderna and Pfizer, but needs additional funding to buy more doses. It also signed contracts with other companies for vaccines that have not yet been licensed. Private companies, including McKesson, UPS and FedEx, are distributing the doses, but have relied on support from Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services personnel.
States have received $ 340 million from the US government to help offset the costs they have borne for launching the vaccine, but they say they face a shortfall of about $ 8 billion. A shutdown would halt Congress’ plans to distribute funds to make up for that shortfall.
Health care: Past closures have resulted in widespread layoffs for workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the agencies leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic. A CDC program to track flu outbreaks stopped during a 2013 shutdown; in 2018, the government kept the program running during another shutdown, saying it would continue the “immediate response to urgent disease outbreaks.”
Military: The Department of Defense continued to operate during the latest shutdown, which lasted 35 days through late 2018 and early 2019. During that period, the United States was unable to send paychecks to service members and civilian employees. Active duty military personnel were considered essential workers; some civilian employees and contractors were suspended.
Compliance with the law: The FBI and other law enforcement agencies continued to work during previous shutdowns. The FBI Agents Association said after the latest shutdown that funding lapses made it difficult to prosecute cases, in part because they were unable to pay informants. The federal courts largely stayed open during the last shutdown because they had enough money on hand to keep them during the shutdown.
National parks and monuments: National parks and monuments largely remained open during the latest closure, although some venues, such as Independence Hall in Philadelphia, closed. Other parks remained open with limited staff, prompting complaints about overflowing garbage, uncleaned restrooms and illegal camps as visitors defended themselves.
Financial supervision: Market regulators were forced to lay off staff during the latest shutdown. The Securities and Exchange Commission maintained sufficient staff to monitor the markets and “respond to emergency situations.” He continued to accept corporate submissions.
Mail delivery: Deliveries continued as usual during previous closures because the US Postal Service does not receive tax dollars for day-to-day operations.
Trip: Workers from the Transportation Security Administration checking airline passengers continued to work during the latest shutdown. So did air traffic controllers, whom the government considered essential employees.
The 2018-2019 shutdown came to an end when the absences of air traffic controllers raised the possibility of many flights to and from New York being canceled, prompting a compromise between Trump and Congress.
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