Congress Avoids Yet Another Spending Deadline
After months of internal fighting, Congress has passed a stopgap bill to keep the government open, putting Congress on a path to avert a shutdown this Friday and setting the stage for a broader funding fight in the new year. It now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk, where he is expected to sign the legislation tomorrow evening.
In his first leadership test, Speaker Johnson's proposal prevailed. Johnson pitched a two-tiered funding plan that will extend funding until January 19th for priorities including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing, and the Energy Department. The rest of the government – anything not covered by the first step – would be funded until February 2nd. The proposal does not include additional aid for Israel or Ukraine.
While Johnson’s plan was quickly accepted by Democrats, more Democrats supported the measure than Republicans. Many view this as a warning sign to the newly elected speaker. 209 Democrats voted for the bill, while only 127 Republicans voted for it.
On the other side of the Hill, the 87-11 Senate vote late Wednesday night sends the measure to President Joe Biden’s desk. The measure “accomplishes two things that I and other Democrats have been insistent on for weeks: it will avoid a government shutdown, and it will do so without any of the cruel cuts or poison pills that the hard right pushed for,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.
The Senate’s approval allows both parties to regroup over the Thanksgiving holiday while talks continue on a border security compromise and broader spending deals.
What’s Next for Congress?
Even as Congress easily averted a potential government shutdown this week, temperatures were high. This past Wednesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was accused of elbowing Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) in the hall while Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) challenged Sean O’Brien, the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to a fight during a Senate HELP Committee hearing.
Some of the top issues for Congress upon its return on November 27th include more spending demands and foreign aid requests. The Senate has passed three of its 12 spending bills, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the top GOP appropriator, has pitched a four-bill package to deal with 70% of the remaining discretionary spending, aiming to speed things up.
The House, meanwhile, has passed seven bills and short-circuited on the remaining five amid disputes between hardline Republicans and their more moderate colleagues. There’s plenty of work left before the staggered funding deadlines on January 19th and February 2nd.
On foreign aid, there is another push to finalize a national security package that could include aid to Israel and Ukraine and money and policy changes to tighten border security. Some Republicans might agree to Ukraine aid if it was attached to plans to tighten rules around migrant asylum and parole, and to provide more money to recruit and retain border agents. Democrats might go along with the border plan if it allows for support for Ukraine. Israel has widespread support so that aid could attract votes for the wider package.