The American Chamber approves the agreement to end the “lockdown” after 43 days | world

With 222 votes in favor and 209 against, lawmakers approved temporary funding from parts of the federal government — such as payments to veterans and food aid. The remainder of the budget will be extended in full through the end of January, giving Congress an additional two months to complete the budget bill for the current fiscal year.

But the agreement sparked frustrations on both sides. Democrats failed to include the health insurance provisions they were calling for. The Republicans who control Washington did not emerge unscathed either, according to opinion polls and the negative results of their candidates in the recent elections.

The consequences of the government shutdown, or so-called “shutdown,” have affected millions of people, including federal employees left without pay and airline passengers whose flights were delayed or cancelled. Disruptions to food assistance programs have caused long lines at food banks and increased emotional stress in the lead-up to Thanksgiving.

Without Democrats’ main demand — an extension of the tax break that lowers the costs of health plans purchased through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Obamacare — prices are expected to more than double for millions of Americans. Another 2 million people are expected to lose coverage from their plans entirely next year, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised a vote on the issue in December, in an attempt to resolve the impasse, and ended up convincing eight Democratic senators to approve the package. This support split the party, with the more progressive wing accusing its colleagues of “treason.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the party will fight to expand health care subsidies. “Either Republicans will finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act or Americans will vote them out of office next year,” he said, referring to the 2016 midterm elections.

The implications of the ‘lockdown’ were enormous, which is why party leaders held almost daily press conferences in an attempt to shape public opinion. However, about 60% of Americans said Trump and Republicans in Congress bear “a lot” or “a lot” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% said the same about Democrats, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Parties used elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City to look for signs of how the shutdown might affect public opinion. Democrats were encouraged by their impressive results. In turn, Trump classified the incident as a “major negative factor for Republicans.”

But it was the possibility of Americans not being able to travel on Thanksgiving Day and the lack of food aid payments that hampered the negotiations.

The Congressional Budget Office says the negative impact on the economy will be largely recovered once the shutdown ends, but not completely. Permanent economic losses were estimated at $11 billion in the event of a six-week closure.