US senators reach agreement that will end shutdown
Senators in the United States have reached a bipartisan agreement that will end the longest government shutdown in the country's history.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the BBC..
The longest government shutdown in history lasted 40 days. The US government was partially out of action for over a month because Congress could not agree on funding for public services. The previous record of 35 days occurred during Donald Trump's first term as president and ended in January 2019.
"It looks like we are nearing the end of the shutdown. You will find out about it very soon," US President Donald Trump told reporters. The senators' agreement is the first step towards ending the shutdown.
After passing the Senate, the bill must be approved by the House of Representatives, also controlled by Republicans, and then signed by Trump — a process that could take several days.
What is a shutdown?
A shutdown is a situation where part of the American government is not functioning because a new budget has not been approved, which includes the amount of money needed for government agencies to operate. As a result of such a shutdown, government agencies are left without funding, some officials take unpaid leave, although critically important services continue to operate without pay until funding is restored.
The longest shutdown in US history lasted 35 days, from 22 December 2018 to 25 January 2019, during Donald Trump's first presidential term. This government shutdown was caused by disagreements between the Democratic and Republican parties over funding for the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.
Most federal employees were sent on unpaid leave, while workers in critical industries continued to work without pay.
Analysts estimate that each week of the shutdown will cost the US economy up to $15 billion.
