NEWS
Congress Still Sparring With Just 3 Days Left Until Government Shutdown
Courtesy of politicsandpoems_/Instagram
With just a few days left to avoid a government shutdown, the Senate late Tuesday advanced a bipartisan continuing resolution that would temporarily fund the government through Nov. 17, but it is unlikely to be supported by the House, which has a slim Republican majority.
A continuing resolution is a temporary measure to keep the government running while budget negotiations continue, and the Senate’s plan would maintain funding at current levels in addition to providing $6 billion for domestic disaster relief and $6 billion for aid to Ukraine.
The Senate CR is likely to be approved by the full Democratic-controlled chamber, but is unlikely to pass as-is in the House. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has struggled to unite Republicans behind a deal, as more conservative members push for widespread domestic spending cuts and take a hard line against more aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
McCarthy reached a budget deal with President Joe Biden earlier this year, but it was rejected by more conservative members of his caucus, who have threatened to take his speaker’s gavel away.
Instead, McCarthy is looking to pass a package of four separate bills to fund the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture and State, but some Republican holdouts remain, including Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
“Congress should be focused on AMERICA, not Ukraine,” Greene posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter. “Tomorrow, I will VOTE NO on the rule to advance a BLANK CHECK to Ukraine. How many Republicans will join me & how many will vote to fund Biden’s proxy war?”
McCarthy has also suggested amending the Senate’s CR to include border security measures demanded by some conservatives in the House, and is reportedly seeking a meeting with Biden on the matter, but there’s no indication the White House is open to talks.
“The Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution will keep the government open, make a down payment on disaster relief, and is an important show of support for Ukraine. House Republicans should join the Senate in doing their job, stop playing political games with peoples’ lives, and abide by the bipartisan deal two-thirds of them voted for in May,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The White House has warned that a shutdown would force millions of federal employees to be furloughed, with members of the military and agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration forced to continue working without pay. A shutdown would also jeopardize food assistance for nearly 7 million women and children Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the White House said.
TMX contributed to this article.
