WASHINGTON - The US Senate on Tuesday again failed to pass a temporary funding bill, marking the 14th unsuccessful attempt.
This means the federal government shutdown is on track to surpass the 35-day record set during the 2018-2019 shutdown and become the longest in US history.
The Republican-held Senate voted 54-44 on the House-approved "clean" continuing resolution, which would fund the government at current levels through Nov 21. The bill needed 60 votes to overcome filibuster and move forward in the upper chamber.
The ongoing shutdown has caused growing disruptions, hitting sectors such as aviation, food assistance and health care, with its impact continuing to expand and putting mounting pressure on both livelihoods and the economy.
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The ongoing shutdown could cost the US economy $14 billion if it lasts eight weeks, the Congressional Budget Office said in a recent report.
Meanwhile, the two parties continued to trade blame, each accusing the other party of causing the stalemate.
"'Every day gets better for us.' Those were the words of the Democrat leader one week into this shutdown, reflecting on the supposed benefits of the shutdown for Senate Democrats. But thanks to Senate Democrats, every day is getting worse for the American people," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday in a post on X.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the upper chamber, meanwhile, said Tuesday on X that Republicans are to blame for surging health care prices in the next year. The new enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act health plans began on Nov 1.
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"Open enrollment is now upon us. Twenty-four million Americans are now making agonizing decisions about healthcare," said Schumer.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has warned that once the enhanced subsidies expire at the end of the year, average premiums could rise by about 30 percent next year.
A widely watched food assistance program has also been impacted. After two federal judges intervened, the Trump administration announced on Monday that it would use emergency funds to maintain half of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for this month, noting that some states may take weeks or even months to resume full distributions.
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On Tuesday, however, US President Donald Trump said on social media that SNAP benefits "will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!" The program covers 42 million Americans -- roughly one-eighth of the national population -- most of whom live below the poverty line.
A recent Gallup poll showed that public approval of Congress has dropped by 11 percentage points to just 15 percent. Currently, nearly four out of five American adults -- 79 percent -- say they disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.
"The polling I've seen suggests that nobody is happy with the shutdown or with either party," Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the state of New Hampshire, told Xinhua.
