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Congress moves to avert US Government shutdown till February 2022

US Government Shutdown Concept Photo: Getty Images

*United States President Joe Biden assures Americans ‘I spoke with Mitch McConnell. I spoke with Schumer. There is a plan in place…. And I don’t think that will happen, so I don’t think there will be a shutdown’ to keep jobs and services from being put on hold

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Americans who rely Social Security and SSI cheques, Postal Service deliveries, or VA medical facilities and clinics can now feel safe going into the weekend. Why?

ConsumerConnect gathered the United States (US) Senate and the House  of Representatives Thursday, December 2, 2021, jointly voted to fund the government until February 2022 in order to prevent the threat of a shutdown that would bring those key services for consumers to a standstill in the developed economy.

US President Joe Biden

The bill was in danger up until the last minute, as a group of Republican senators threatened to stall its passage unless language was added in that blocked the use of federal money to carry out President Biden’s mandate on workplace vaccinations, agency report said.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said that one consequence of the president’s order could be a loss of jobs. However, that amendment failed to pass.

Marshall told reporters prior to the vote being taken in the Congress, that “this is about jobs in Kansas. It’s about jobs in Texas, in Utah, across the nation.

“An unconstitutional Federal vaccine mandate’s going to lead to an economic shutdown, jobs lost back home.”

Going into Thursday’s eleventh-hour dare, President Joe Biden was said to be confident that status quo would remain.

President Biden told reporters at a press conference addressing the outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant: “I spoke with Mitch McConnell. I spoke with Schumer. There is a plan in place, unless somebody decides to be totally erratic.

“And I don’t think that will happen, so I don’t think there will be a shutdown.”

Who will be impacted, if a government shutdown occurs in the US?

If the Federal Government of the US ever finds itself in a shutdown, as it did for 35 days in 2018 when Donald Trump was President, the effect would be significant and wide-ranging, according to report.

Specifically at risk would be the following:

Hundreds of thousands of Federal employees and government contractors who wouldn’t get a paycheck until Congress reaches an agreement on funding;

Government facilities such as consulates in foreign countries, national parks and museums, and IRS offices that would be closed; and

Consumers who want a government permit. For example, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be closed during a shutdown, so consumers who want to get a gun permit would have to wait until the shutdown is over.

Fortunately, Medicare and Social Security benefits, as well as employment benefits from individual states, should continue uninterrupted.

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