On Thursday, the U.S. Senate, led by Democrats, took steps to pass a bipartisan temporary funding bill in an effort to prevent the government from experiencing its fourth partial shutdown in the past decade. Meanwhile, in the House, Republican lawmakers were preparing to vote on spending bills that were driven by partisan interests.
According to Newsmax, the contrasting paths pursued by these two chambers seemed to heighten the likelihood that federal agencies might run out of funds by Sunday. This would result in the furloughing of hundreds of thousands of federal employees and the suspension of various services, ranging from economic data releases to nutrition assistance programs.
The Senate made a significant move by voting 76-22 to initiate discussions on a temporary bill commonly referred to as a continuing resolution (CR). This bill, if enacted, would extend federal spending until November 17 and allocate around $6 billion for domestic disaster response efforts as well as aid to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia.
It’s worth noting that the Senate’s proposal has already faced rejection by the Republicans who hold the majority in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, in the House, lawmakers were planning late-night votes on four appropriations bills that were driven by partisan priorities. These bills, on their own, would not be sufficient to prevent a government shutdown, especially given strong opposition from Democrats and the need for them to become law.
Within the House, Republican representatives, particularly a faction of staunch conservatives, hold a narrow majority with a 221-212 margin. They have voiced their disagreement with the spending levels for fiscal year 2024, which were established in a deal negotiated by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden in May. The original agreement allocated $1.59 trillion for discretionary spending in fiscal 2024, but House Republicans are demanding an additional $120 billion in cuts, along with more stringent legislation aimed at curbing immigration at the U.S.-Mexico southern border.
It’s important to recognize that this funding dispute pertains to a relatively small portion of the overall $6.4 trillion U.S. budget for the current fiscal year. Lawmakers are not considering reductions to popular benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Speaker McCarthy is facing intense pressure from members of his caucus to achieve their objectives. Some of the hardliners have even threatened to remove him from his leadership position if he supports a spending bill that relies on Democratic votes for passage.
Notably, former President Donald Trump has been using social media to encourage his congressional allies to push for a government shutdown.
In response to these developments, Speaker McCarthy suggested on Thursday that a government shutdown might be averted if Senate Democrats were willing to address border-related issues in their temporary funding measure. He stated, “I talked this morning to some Democratic senators over there that are more aligned with what we want to do. They want to do something about the border. We’re trying to work to see, could we put some border provisions in that current Senate bill that would actually make things a lot better.”