September 30th 2023.
The US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill on Saturday morning to avert a government shutdown just hours before the midnight deadline. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the proposal after weeks of in-fighting between House Republicans.
The bill, which includes the natural disaster aid requested by the White House, must now be approved by the Senate before the end of the day in order to prevent a lapse in funding. However, the bill does not include the $9.3 billion AUD in funding to aid Ukraine, a concession demanded by many House Republicans and a blow to allies of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
When asked if he was concerned that a House member could move to oust him over this bill, McCarthy replied, “If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that.” The infighting among House Republicans has played a major role in bringing Congress to a standstill over spending, raising concerns that a shutdown, if triggered, may not be easy to end.
House Democrats have been trying to slow down the passage of the GOP-led continuing resolution throughout the day on Saturday, objecting to being forced to vote on a bill just introduced and wanting to keep Ukraine aid. House Republicans met throughout the morning, debating options for how to proceed.
McCarthy has faced threats to his job throughout the month if he works with Democrats. But he remains undeterred, arguing that a shutdown would have consequential impacts across the country, from air travel to clean drinking water.
Both chambers are scheduled to be in session Saturday, just hours before the deadline. The Senate was expected to take procedural steps to advance their own plan to keep the government funded, but Senator Rand Paul had vowed to slow down the process beyond the midnight deadline over objections to the bill’s funding for the war in Ukraine.
However, Paul has since told CNN that he won’t slow down the Senate’s consideration of the House GOP’s 45-day spending bill, if it passes the House and the Senate takes it up. This would allow the Senate to move the bill quickly, though any other senator could slow that down beyond the midnight deadline.
House Republicans have so far rejected a bipartisan Senate proposal to keep the government funded through November 17, and they have yet to coalesce around a plan of their own to avert a shutdown amid resistance from hardline conservatives to any kind of short-term funding extension.
The Senate is working to advance its own bipartisan stopgap bill, but border security has become a complicating factor as many Republicans now want to see the bill amended to address the issue. It is unclear when senators could take a final vote to pass the bill, or if it will be done before a government shutdown occurs.
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