Washington, Jan 5 (EFE).- The Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, Shalanda Young, expressed on Friday that she is not optimistic about Congress approving the funding needed to avoid a partial government shutdown after Jan. 19.
“I wouldn’t say pessimistic but I’m not optimistic,” she told reporters.
Young made her statement after several Republicans in recent days ed the idea of forcing a government shutdown if negotiations aimed at tightening immigration policy do not materialize first.
“The rhetoric this week has concerned me that (a shutdown) is the path that House Republicans are headed down,” she said.
“I’m typically optimistic, but I don’t want to sound as optimistic this morning, especially after some of the remarks I’ve seen over the last couple of days,” she added.
The Judiciary ed a new budget extension on Nov. 15 that averted a threatened government shutdown with two expiration dates (Jan. 19 and Feb. 2) that should allow of Congress to negotiate the fiscal year 2024 budget in time.
With the first deadline just two weeks away and parallel negotiations in Congress on issues including immigration policy and military aid to Ukraine, Young said the timeline was tight.
Congress had focused its efforts before the end of the year on negotiating the more than $100 billion economic package requested by the White House for military aid, including for Ukraine and Israel.
In exchange for aid to Ukraine (more than $60 billion), Republicans have demanded a tightening of immigration policies.
The White House has warned that the money approved for Ukraine until 2023 has run out and that it will not be able to continue ing Kyiv in its war with Russia.
Negotiations on this package are now coming together with negotiations on the budgets, making the agreement between the two parties even more complex. EFE
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