Negotiators from both the Republican and Democratic parties in the U.S. Congress are nearing an agreement on a temporary spending bill to prevent a partial government shutdown, according to a report from Reuters, citing sources.
The current funding is set to expire before the weekend, but the proposed stopgap bill would extend the funding through March 14. This extension is necessary to maintain the federal government's operations, including military, air traffic control, and federal securities regulators, at their current budget level of approximately $6.2 trillion.
The need for a temporary measure arose after Congress did not pass the twelve annual appropriations bills required for the fiscal year that started on October 1. While mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare benefits automatically renew and make up about two-thirds of the budget, the remaining federal functions rely on the passage of appropriations bills for their financing. The stopgap bill aims to ensure that these functions continue without interruption.
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