US shutdown becomes more likely

A shutdown looms from Wednesday ...

If Congress does not reach an agreement at short notice, many US federal agencies are threatened with closure from Wednesday (“shutdown”, see box at the end of this analysis). This is because the new fiscal year begins on October 1 and there is still no proper budget on the basis of which the US federal government could spend money. The Republicans therefore want to pass a short-term funding measure, a so-called continuing resolution, but to do so they need the approval of at least some of the opposition Democrats in the Senate. After all, budget bills require a “supermajority” of 60 senators, but the Republicans only have 53 senators. For being on board, the Democrats are demanding that cuts to health insurance be reversed, which the Republicans in turn reject.

In the past, when faced with shutdown, the opposition has usually caved in and helped to secure bridge financing. This is because in cases where a shutdown did occur, the public always held the party blocking a solution in Congress primarily responsible.

For full text see attached PDF-Version.