Congress Avoids Government Shutdown in Last-Minute Deal

UPDATE - September 30, 9:30pm ET

UPDATE - September 30, 3:05pm ET

Updated September 28th, 2023, 2:30 p.m. EST

• The two chambers of Congress are making divergent efforts to stop the shutdown on Sunday, which may only increase the odds of federal funds running out. The Democratic Senate is pushing a bipartisan stopgap funding bill while the House prepares to vote on GOP spending bills with limited chances of becoming laws. 
• The Senate's bill, known as a continuing resolution, received a 76-22 vote to open debate. The bill would extend funding until Nov. 17 and authorize roughly $6 billion for domestic disaster response funding and to Ukraine. The measure passed two procedural hurdles with strong bipartisan support this week, but House Republicans have already rejected the resolution. 
• The House has four partisan appropriation bills are in the works. Even if the measures overcome the solid Democratic opposition, they would not alone prevent a shutdown. Conservatives spearheading these efforts are pushing for deep spending cuts and threatening Speaker Kevin McCarthy's position. 
• McCarthy suggested a meeting with Biden, which the White House rejected, saying it was up to Republicans to fix the crisis. Biden said he doesn't believe a shutdown has to be inevitable and urged House Republicans to "do their job, fund the government."

Updated September 21, 2023, 4:45 p.m. EST

• For the second time this week, the House failed to start a debate on the necessary measure to fund the government after five conservative members blocked the bill. The outcast representatives are demanding additional spending cuts. 
• With another government shutdown around the corner, Washington leaders left town for the week. 
• Rep Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said:

"We are very dysfunctional right now."

• Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a moderate representative, said:

"For my colleagues, they have to come to a realization: If they are unable or unwilling to govern, others will. And in a divided government where you have Democrats controlling the Senate, a Democrat controlling the White House, there needs to be a realization that you're not going to get everything you want."

Updated September 19, 2023, 2:15 p.m. EST

• The House has decided to postpone the vote on the short-term funding measure as Republican leadership and far-right representatives wrestle with changes to the legislation. 
• The U.S. national debt reached $33 trillion on Monday — a milestone reported by the Treasury Department as the possibility of a shutdown becomes increasingly more likely.
• While it was doubtful that the measure would have passed if voted on, many observers are critiquing the government's lack of action as the deadline to fund the government approaches. 
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) reported that the House GOP was "nowhere near" passing the legislation. Similarly, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told reporters that zero progress was made this afternoon.

What’s the story?

• The House is racing to avoid a potential government shutdown as federal funding dries up. Two key GOP factions created a short-term, stopgap measure to fund the government through Oct. 31, but it’s receiving pushback.
• A few members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and the moderate Main Street Caucus sponsored the bill. The short-term spending bill would impose an 8% spending cut on federal agencies — not including the national defense budget or the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• The temporary measure does not include the White House’s request for $40 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine and natural disasters, which Senate leaders from both parties want to attach to any temporary funding bill. 
• The framework needs 218 votes to pass in the House. Speaker Kevin McCarthy is under pressure to get approval from as many Republican representatives as possible, and at least three have already signaled they will not sign off on the bill. 
• Democrats are highly expected to reject the bill, leading many to believe a government shutdown is more than likely. 

What they’re saying

• Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said on X:

“It’s crystal clear a Gov’t shutdown is coming. I represent 66% of the Texas-Mexico border – a hollowing Continuing Resolution built to win a messaging battle does nothing to keep America safe.”

• Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) wrote on X as well:

“No CR. Pass the damn approps bills. Roll back the crazy bureaucracy to pre-COVID levels. Now.”

• In a statement, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said the resolution was “extreme.”

“Less than two weeks away from a government shutdown, House Republicans are still more focused on introducing extreme funding bills that would cut funding to the National Institutes of Health including funding for cancer research, defund the police, and decrease resources to important allies like Ukraine and Israel than working on bipartisan solution that could be enacted.”

• When asked in an interview on Sunday, McCarthy said the shutdown “would only give strength to Democrats.” He continued:  

“It would give the power to Biden. It wouldn’t pay our troops. It wouldn’t pay our border agents. More people would be coming across. I actually want to achieve something.”

• House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said:

“House Republicans have made it clear that they are determined to shut down the government and try to jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.”

How do you feel about another government shutdown?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: iStock/Douglas Rissing)