Deal To End Longest Government Shutdown in History Clears Congress

• A deal to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history cleared Congress on Wednesday, after the House of Representatives voted to restart disrupted food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers and revive a hobbled air-traffic control system.
• The Republican-controlled chamber passed the package by a vote of 222-209 with six Democrats backing the Republican-led measure, setting up an end to the government shutdown after 43 days once President Donald Trump signs the legislation. The shutdown became the longest in US history, surpassing the previous record of 35 days in late 2018 and early 2019.
• The House passed a package of bills on Wednesday that will temporarily fund and reopen federal agencies through January 30 - leaving the federal government on a path to keep adding about $1.8 trillion a year to its $38 trillion in debt after the Senate finally arrived at a deal on November 9. In the coming weeks, lawmakers will negotiate a longer-term solution to avoid another closure. Trump is likely to sign the bills quickly. 
• Alongside securing general government funding through January 30, the stopgap bills set a budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the legislative branch through January 2026.
• The package also restores full funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. However, Congress' plan does not extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. This act provides healthcare cost relief to millions of low- and middle-income Americans beyond their December 31 expiration date and was a major goal of Democrats during the shutdown. Under Wednesday's agreement, Congress said it will negotiate on subsidies before voting in December.
• The shutdown has directly affected Americans: Airports have seen major delays, with staff concerned that the shutdown would create chaos for holiday travel. Airlines were cancelling up to 10% of flights at major hubs in the last days of the shutdown and schedules may take time to return to normal. Additionally, safety net programs were unable to pay full November benefits, and federal employees were furloughed or worked without pay for over a month.
• With the government reopen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he expects that Americans' finances will soon return to normality. "The shutdown of the federal government will weigh on economic activity while it persists," he said in the Fed's October meeting. "But these effects should reverse after the shutdown ends."

(Source: Business Insider)