U.S. Government Shutdown Nears End As House Committee Approves Senate Funding Bill

The House Rules Committee approved a Senate-passed funding bill to end the government shutdown.

The bill, which funds most federal agencies through January 30, heads to the full House for a vote.

Bipartisan support for the bill signals a potential economic boost and resolution of the shutdown.

The U.S. government shutdown is close to ending after the House Rules Committee approved a Senate-passed funding bill. This bill, which aims to reopen federal agencies, would fund most government operations through January 30

House Panel Clears Path for Vote

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday voted 8-4 along party lines to move ahead with a regulation that would control the argument about the money bill. This procedural step permits the bill to be taken up by the entire House for voting, which can happen as early as Wednesday afternoon. The Senate had already approved the bill on Monday with a 60–40 vote, which indicated bipartisan support. The senators belonging to both parties cooperated in fashioning this compromise, which is intended to bring about the government’s closure end and federal operations restart.

While the committee was discussing, a number of the suggested changes were turned down. One of them was the provision to prolong the health insurance subsidies that were supposed to expire. Another change that would have effectively nullified senatorial litigations amounting to $500,000 in cases where law enforcement casts a shadow over their data through seizure was also turned down. Lawmakers were given a heads-up that these changes would slow down the process of the bill, therefore making the shutdown longer than anticipated.

House Speaker Mike Johnson asked the legislators to come back to Washington before the vote. The announcement was made despite concerns about inconveniences for travelers, especially at major airports, due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Veteran’s Day holiday on Tuesday meant that both houses of Congress were not in session; therefore, the soonest time for a vote would be Wednesday.

Funding Deal Could Signal Economic Boost

The enactment of this funding bill signifies a tough but necessary compromise after many weeks of unsuccessful negotiations. The Senate’s bipartisan backing gives the bill a chance and, thereby, the shutdown may sooner or later come to an end. Traditionally, the end of government shutdowns has been associated with positive financial market movements, and consequently, experts predict that market sentiment could be escalated and even a rally could happen as a result of the shutdown being over.The U.S. Senate Committee’s recent draft of the Crypto Asset Market Clarity Act coincided with the funding agreement. The regulatory bill would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the power to oversee the whole digital asset market. The slowdown in the legislative process for digital assets is not directly affected by this development, but it surely increases the complexity of the situation. The funding bill was already voted on by the House, which means that the U.S. government shutdown could be resolved in a matter of days; thus, federal operations can begin again.