The United States Senate took a step in the right direction on Tuesday, in a rare show of bipartisanship, when they voted to move forward on a short-term deal to avert another government shutdown. The Senate voted 67 to 28 in favor of the bill, which would keep the government running until February 15, and fund a number of agencies through the rest of the fiscal year.
The deal in question appears to have bipartisan support, as Republican and Democratic leadership agreed early Tuesday morning on the need to pass a short-term bill that would keep the government open. The deal, however, is not without its drawbacks. The lack of a long-term budget agreement means that there is still uncertainty surrounding the looming debt ceiling deadline and the nation’s fiscal stability.
Under the short-term bill, lawmakers will be required to negotiate a long-term budget by the February 15 deadline. This means that there could be another battle between the two sides of the aisle in just over a month.
It is not yet clear what the long-term budget negotiations will look like, though observers have suggested that both sides may be willing to make compromises in order to reach a deal. These compromises could center around raising spending caps, using emergency funds, or cutting health care costs.
Democrats, in particular, have expressed hesitation about using emergency funds, with some feeling that the money could be better used elsewhere. Republicans, on the other hand, have pushed for cuts in foreign aid spending as a way to offset the costs of their proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The short-term deal that was passed by the Senate on Tuesday may be a sign of progress, but it does not address the underlying issues that both sides are trying to resolve. It is still uncertain how and if the two sides will come to an agreement when the February 15 deadline rolls around, but the Senate’s vote is at least a small glimmer of hope when it comes to averting another government shutdown.
