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US Senate takes up $1.2 trillion bill to avoid shutdown, midnight deadline looms
© Reuters. A view of the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
By David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Makini Brice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Democratic-majority U.S. Senate on Friday was trying to pass a $1.2 trillion government funding bill after House of Representatives passage angered a Republican hardliner in that chamber, who threatened to try to oust Speaker Mike Johnson.
The House’s 286-134 vote sent the measure to the Democratic-majority Senate, which has hours to act ahead of a midnight deadline (0400 GMT Saturday) to prevent parts of the Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department to Treasury and State departments from closing.
The Senate began a procedural vote on the matter on Friday, while leadership negotiated behind the scenes to bypass some of the chamber’s Byzantine rules and allow for a swifter vote on passage.
The move marks a critical step toward ending a more-than-six-month battle over the scope of Washington’s spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Ratings agencies have warned that the repeated brinkmanship could hurt the creditworthiness of a federal government that currently has more than $34.6 trillion in debt.
The measure passed the House with 185 Democrats and 101 Republican votes, which led hardline conservative Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to introduce a measure to oust Republican Johnson.
Johnson himself ascended to that role in October after hardliners furious that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, had passed a temporary funding measure over their objections, ousted him as leader.
But Greene said she would not push for an immediate vote.
“I filed a motion to vacate today. But it’s more of a warning than a pink slip,” the Georgia Republican told reporters.
SENATE UP NEXT
Meanwhile, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged his colleagues to move quickly to pass the measure.
“Let’s finish the job today. Let’s avoid even a weekend shutdown. Let’s finish the job of funding the government for the remainder of the fiscal year,” Schumer said. “There is no reason to delay.”
The last partial federal government shutdown occurred during Donald Trump’s presidency, from Dec. 22, 2018 until Jan. 25, 2019. The record-long interruption in government services came as the Republican insisted on money to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and was unable to broker a deal with Democrats.
The current 1,012-page bill provides $886 billion in funding for the Defense Department, including a raise for U.S. troops. It also covers agencies ranging from the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department, along with the Treasury and State departments.
A separate controversial money matter is boiling in Congress where its leaders, except for Johnson, urgently are calling for final passage of a $95 billion security assistance package approved by the Senate for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Some Republicans are balking at continuing to back Ukraine in its war against the invading Russian military.
While conservatives succeeded in getting Congress and Democratic President Joe Biden to agree to some fiscal 2024 spending cuts, they hoped for far deeper ones. Their disgruntlement led to the historic October removal of McCarthy. The Republicans’ subsequent political infighting shut down the House for three weeks as Republicans fought over a replacement.
Since then, with the November elections looming, most Republicans have been loath to trigger a government shutdown over spending, although Washington was brought to the brink four times since late September.
A shutdown beginning on Saturday would mean most U.S. Border Patrol and immigration agents would continue to work. But local governments might not receive new aid to shelter migrants.
U.S. soldiers and all federal workers would not get paid until new funding is enacted and national parks would be shuttered. Same situation for the two U.S. astronauts aboard the International Space Station 254 miles (409 km) above Earth.
Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service would continue processing tax returns that are due on April 15. It would advise taxpayers of any potential delays in refunds. At the State Department, security at embassies and other foreign offices would remain in force and passports and visas would be issued as long as there were sufficient fees to support such activities. Many other operations would cease.
By Maggie Fick and Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team are laying the groundwork for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his second term, according to a health law expert familiar with the discussions.
“I have it on good authority that he plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health (NS:) Law.
The Financial Times was first to report on the plans, citing two experts. The second expert, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, was not immediately available for comment.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The plan, which aligns with Trump’s longstanding criticism of the U.N. health agency, would mark a dramatic shift in U.S. global health policy and further isolate Washington from international efforts to battle pandemics.
Trump has nominated several critics of the organization to top public health positions, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who is up for the post of secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees all major U.S. health agencies including the CDC and FDA.
Trump initiated the year-long withdrawal process from the WHO in 2020 but six months later his successor, President Joe Biden, reversed the decision.
Trump has argued that the agency failed to hold China accountable for the early spread of COVID-19. He has repeatedly called the WHO a puppet of Beijing and vowed to redirect U.S. contributions to domestic health initiatives.
A WHO spokesperson declined to directly comment but referred Reuters to comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Dec. 10 in which he was asked whether he was concerned that the Trump administration would withdraw from the organization.
Tedros said at the time that the WHO needed to give the U.S. time and space for the transition. He also voiced confidence that states could finalize a pandemic agreement by May 2025.
Critics warn that a U.S. withdrawal could undermine global disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
“The U.S. would lose influence and clout in global health and China would fill the vacuum. I can’t imagine a world without a robust WHO. But U.S. withdrawal would severely weaken the agency,” Gostin said.
U.Today – MicroStrategy has made headlines again by purchasing 5,262 BTC for approximately $561 million at an average price of $106,662 per BTC. The company now holds a staggering 444,262 BTC, accumulated at a total cost of approximately $27.7 billion, with an average purchase price of $62,257 per BTC.
Despite impressive returns of 47.4% since the beginning of the quarter and 73.7% since the beginning of the year, skepticism about the company’s strategy is growing.
It is believed that to sustain its purchases, MicroStrategy raises capital through methods such as issuing convertible and corporate bonds, securing credit lines and selling shares.
This cycle appears to operate as follows: shares are sold to acquire the cryptocurrency, and the rising price per BTC increases asset value, enabling further loans, which are then reinvested in more purchases.
Some observers warn that a significant decline in Bitcoin’s price or MicroStrategy’s stock could trigger a cascade effect. A sharp fall in MSTR shares would weaken the collateral backing its loans, potentially leading to forced asset sales, including BTC.
This scenario could exert downward pressure on the broader cryptocurrency market, as the company holds 2.2% of the global Bitcoin supply now.
Thus, while some view Michael Saylor’s approach as a bold bid to cement the cryptocurrency’s role in the financial system, others see it as unsustainable. History offers a cautionary note: in 2000, MSTR shares surged to $333 before plummeting 99%, a collapse that took 24 years to recover from.
National homebuilder ranked No. 12 on inaugural list ranking companies based on trust
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With a longstanding reputation for trust, national homebuilder and land developer Taylor Morrison (NYSE:) (NYSE: ™HC) has been recognized by Forbes on their inaugural list of the Most Trusted Companies in America. The homebuilder ranked No. 12 out of 300 companies across all industries.
“There are few things more powerful than trust and it’s something we strive to earn amongst all company stakeholders, from our customers to our team members, our shareholders, and our local communities,” said Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. “To be included on this esteemed list in its inaugural year is especially meaningful and these awards are important reminders of the relationships we’re building across all aspects of our business.”
Fueled by hundreds of millions of data points, the Most Trusted Companies in America list combines data on a wide range of factors across four categories: employee trust, customer trust, investor trust and media sentiment. The ranking was created in partnership with research companies HundredX, Signal AI and Glassdoor.
Taylor Morrison also earned the No. 67 spot on Forbes’ inaugural America’s Best Companies list. The ranking is Forbes’ most comprehensive company ranking to date and factored in ratings for financial performance, customer and employee satisfaction, cybersecurity, sustainability, companies’ remote work policies, media coverage and more. Forbes’ America’s Best Companies list assessed more than 60 metrics across 11 primary categories to identify which organizations excel across the board. Of the more than 2,000 U.S.-based publicly traded companies that were eligible, only 300 qualified for each list.
In addition to being named among the Most Trusted and Best Companies in America by Forbes, Taylor Morrison holds several additional accolades including being named on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies and America’s Greenest Companies lists, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For list, the American Opportunity (SO:) Index, America’s Most Trusted ® Home Builder for nine years, Hearthstone’s 2021 BUILDER Humanitarian Award, and inclusion on the Fortune 500 list since 2021.
About Taylor Morrison
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation’s leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brands”including Taylor Morrison, Esplanade and Yardly. From 2016-2024, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America’s Most Trusted ® Builder by Lifestory Research. Our long-standing commitment to sustainable operations is highlighted in our annual Sustainability and Belonging Report.
For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.
CONTACT:
media@taylormorrison.com
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