Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP

No clear path to deal five days before partial US government shutdown


Ellie Sennett
  • English
  • Arabic

US politicians are returning to Capitol Hill this week with only five more days until a partial government shutdown, as partisanship again stalls the passing of a federal budget.

Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is March 1.

A partial government shutdown will occur at midnight on Friday if Congress fails to pass a budget this week, with a full shutdown possible on March 8.

Congressional leaders had hoped to release government funding legislation at the weekend, but negotiations appear to have reached an impasse.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a “Dear Colleagues” letter on Sunday, warning that Washington is once again facing “the spectre of a harmful and unnecessary government shutdown caused by an extreme wing within the Republican Party”.

Key leaders in the Democrat-controlled Senate are “having intense discussions” with Speaker Mike Johnson in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Mr Schumer said.

The Democrat warned that even a partial shutdown would “disrupt supply chains, hamper small businesses, upend services for our military and veterans, jeopardise health care for children and families, and much, much more”.

Mr Johnson fired back, claiming Republicans in the House are “continuing to work in good faith” on achieving a deal.

“Our position is that of the American people and our mission is to take steps to rein in Democrats’ overspending and policies that are harming the economy, raising prices and making everyday life harder for our constituents,” he said.

Though senators returned to Washington on Monday, the House will not be in session until Wednesday, adding more heat to the political pressure cooker.

President Joe Biden will convene congressional leaders on Tuesday at the White House, where he will “discuss the urgency of passing the bipartisan national security supplemental and keeping the government open”, according to the White House schedule.

In addition to the urgency over passing a budget for the federal government, Washington has been entrenched in a partisan stalemate over passing a massive foreign aid and border security package that includes billions in funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Hopes were raised earlier this month when the Senate passed a bipartisan $95 billion foreign aid bill, but the chaotic Republican-controlled House killed the legislation.

Mr Biden's State of the Union address is scheduled for the evening of March 7, one day before the government could completely shut down.

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Fixtures

Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs

Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms

Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles

Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon

Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon

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Favourite film:

Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Favourite holiday destination:

Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.

Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.

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Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

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Price, base: Dh69,900

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Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

Updated: February 26, 2024, 5:22 PM`