Shut up or shutdown

After 43 days, the latest (longest-ever) government shutdown ended on Nov. 12 with a funding measure that provides full-year Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch appropriations, and continuing funding through Jan. 30 for other agencies, The Senate approved this amended version of the House-passed CR (continuing resolution) on Nov. 10 by a vote of 60 to 40.

- AMELIA H.C. YLAGAN

The House then passed the bill on Nov. 12 by a vote of 222 to 209. President Trump signed the measure the same day,” the Committee for a Responsible Budget (CFRB), a nonpartisan, nonprofit US organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact, announced.

What was this 43-day government shutdown all about? The CFRB ought to know. It was all about the approval of the US appropriations budget for fiscal year October 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026.

By the CFRB's own telling, "On Sept. 30, the Senate voted on whether to end debate on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that would extend government funding through Nov. 21. The Senate previously failed to end debate on that CR, as well as the alternative CR put forward by Democrats that would cost $1.5 trillion. The federal government shut down at midnight on Oct. 1."

The discretionary spending caps that were put in place by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) are no longerbinding for FY 2026. The Budget Committees of the House and the Senate debated a new resolution for FY 2026, where a new topline level for discretionary spending was proposed. From the Appropriations Committees, the funding bills moved to the House and Senate floor for approval before the final signing into law by the President.

The Republican-controlled House on day 43 of the shutdown — approved a new funding bill with a vote of 222 to 209, Six Democrats joined Republicans to vote “yes.” The package passed the Senate two days earlier by a vote of 60-40, after seven Democrats and one independent senator sided with Republicans to approve it, BBC News reported.