Washington [US], March 10: The US government is running out of funding in just a week, and House Republicans are proposing a rescue plan that faces opposition from Democrats.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives last weekend released a temporary budget for the government for the next 6 months, with the content of increasing financial resources for defense activities while cutting remaining programs, according to The Hill .
Government bailout plan
Yesterday (Vietnam time), US House Speaker Mike Johnson officially announced a temporary budget proposal to maintain government operations until September 30. This is a measure to prevent the risk of a government shutdown on March 14 and allow President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress more time to pass the president's work agenda this summer.
Trump himself has voiced support for a government funding bill that includes some cuts to spending programs that Democrats are likely to oppose. Specifically, the draft proposes increasing defense spending by $6 billion, while reducing domestic spending by about $13 billion. The plan also includes some White House requests for more funding to step up the campaign to deport illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
However, Democratic leaders quickly voiced their opposition to the cuts to domestic programs, setting the stage for a heated confrontation in the coming days. "The bill fails to protect Social Security , Medicare, and Medicaid, while leaving Americans worse off in the current fiscal year. We will vote no," CNN quoted a joint statement from Democratic leaders in the House yesterday.
Still, Republican leaders are confident their plan will pass the House thanks to the support of President Trump, who is expected to persuade the party's hard-line conservatives to vote in favor. Johnson plans to hold a vote on March 11, according to The Hill , citing sources familiar with the matter. Democrats, for their part, face a difficult choice: Will they persist in shutting down the government, at the cost of putting more federal workers at risk while the federal bureaucracy continues to be streamlined?
Developments at the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice
Over the weekend, all employees of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about 80,000 people, received letters encouraging them to resign in exchange for $25,000 in compensation, NBC News reported. The deadline for responses is March 14. Previously, in an interview with Fox News in February, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he already had a list of employees who needed to be fired.
HHS oversees Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts warn that streamlining the agency could hurt Kennedy's ability to deliver on his agenda, including efforts to change vaccine policies and keep bad food off the market.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche fired Adam Cohen as director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Reuters reported yesterday. Cohen's surprise departure is the latest example of the administration's plans to reshuffle the Justice Department's management ranks, positions that have remained stable throughout presidential terms.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper