The US Congress announced on Sunday an agreement between Democrats and Republicans to produce a full federal budget for fiscal year 2024, which will avoid the possibility of a government shutdown in this year of presidential and congressional elections.

The agreement on the budget with a ceiling of around 1.6 trillion. dollars was announced by the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and leading Democrats in Congress, after weeks of negotiations.

The decision was immediately praised by President Joe Biden, who stressed, according to a press release released by his White House services, that the framework agreement “brings us one step closer to avoiding a futile government shutdown and protecting major national priorities’ of the US.

But time is running out for the bipartisan Congress to agree on the details of public spending and adopt a text before a Jan. 19 deadline, after which federal agencies will see their funding cut off unless a new one is approved. budget.

The framework agreement is said to increase Pentagon spending by $886.3 billion, well above the level of an additional $100 billion in funds not directly related to national defense requested by Democrats.

“By securing $772.7 billion in funding (…) we will be able to protect important national priorities such as veterans benefits, medical care and food aid that were threatened by the draconian cuts wanted by right-wing extremists,” they said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement.

The framework agreement “paves the way for Congress to act in the coming weeks to protect funding priorities important to the American people and avoid a government shutdown,” they added.

In his own announcement, Mr. Biden stressed that the deal prevents “deep cuts to programs that hardworking families rely on, and paves the way for year-round funding bills that meet the needs of the American people and are free from extremist policies”.

But the deal is likely to enrage the hard-right faction of Mr. Johnson’s Republican caucus in the House of Representatives, members of which insist on the need for US fiscal austerity.