Could there be a risk of Shutdown again before the elections? Main dates
The Senate has approved a House-passed stopgap funding bill, avoiding a government shutdown. Could there be another risk of shutdown before the elections?
The Senate has approved a stopgap funding measure and sent it to the office of President Joe Biden to be signed into law in time to beat a weekend deadline, averting a partial government shutdown.
The Democrat-controlled Senate voted 87-11 to pass the measure that extends specific government priorities. The Republican-controlled House had earlier voted 336-95, with 209 Democrats and only 127 GOP representatives supporting the bill.
READ ALSO: Government shutdown avoided...for now
Speaker Mike Johnson’s unusual two-part plan
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan had a two-pronged approach with separate funding plans for different parts of federal spending. The bill needed two-thirds of the House-or 290 votes- to pass. It needed Democratic support because the Republican majority did not have the numbers to send it through.
It was the third fiscal standoff in Congress this year, two of them resolved only days before an impending partial shutdown that would have stopped the payment of salaries to around four million federal employees. The other impasse brought the US to the brink of defaulting on its debt in spring.
The other time that a government shutdown was averted at the last minute was in early October, and that crisis led to the ouster of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The latest vote may have avoided a government shutdown for now, but the lawmakers have only bought themselves an extension of around two months.
READ ALSO: How many Democrats voted to pass the bill to avoid a government shutdown?
Could there be a risk of shutdown again before the elections? Main dates
The bill extends funding for military construction, veterans benefits, transportation, housing, urban development, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and energy and water programs until Jan. 19, 2024. Another date to watch out for is Feb. 2, 2024, when the budget for all other federal operations, including the military, will expire.
Republican hardliners are unhappy with the compromise, and are hoping to get more cuts for federal funding when Congress resumes session after the Thanksgiving break. It is likely that that the prospect of a government shutdown will loom once, or twice, again, in the early months of the new year.