Congress avoids government shutdown with last-minute funding bill
Congress avoids government shutdown with last-minute funding bill
Congress Avoids Government Shutdown with Last-Minute Funding Bill
Congress has averted a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding bill that will keep the government open for 45 days. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on September 30, 2023, just hours before the deadline. The bill allows the government to stay open, giving Congress more time to negotiate a longer-term funding bill.
The funding bill was necessary because Congress had been unable to pass a longer-term funding bill before the start of the fiscal year on October 1, 2023. The bill provides funding for federal agencies and programs, including disaster relief, nutrition aid, and scientific research.
The funding bill was the result of a last-minute scramble by Congress to avoid a government shutdown. Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives had pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown in a decade. On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate advanced a stopgap funding bill, but a final vote did not come for days.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees would have lacked the funding to do their jobs if the two chambers had not sent a spending bill for President Biden to sign into law by 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. Federal agencies had already drawn up detailed plans that spelled out what services must continue, like airport screening and border patrols, and what must shut down, like scientific research and nutrition aid to 7 million poor mothers.
This year, a group of Republicans had blocked action in the House as they had pressed to tighten immigration and cut spending below levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling standoff last spring. On Friday, 21 Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat legislation that reflected those demands, saying the chamber should focus instead on passing detailed spending bills for the full fiscal year, even if it leads to a shutdown in the near term.
The Senate held a procedural vote to extend government funding, and a bipartisan bill to keep the government open through November 17 was passed overwhelmingly. However, some Republican opposition meant it was unlikely to pass until after the deadline.
In conclusion, the short-term funding bill passed by Congress has averted a government shutdown and will keep federal agencies and programs running for 45 days. The bill provides funding for disaster relief, nutrition aid, and scientific research, among other things. While the funding bill is only a temporary solution, it gives Congress more time to negotiate a longer-term funding bill.
Resources:
- “Congress averts government shutdown with stopgap-funding bill.” Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congress-tees-up-votes-last-minute-scramble-avert-shutdown-2023-09-30/
- “Biden signs 45-day funding bill to keep government open.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/30/government-shutdown-live-updates-congress-faces-funding-deadline.html
- “Highlights: Congress passes bill to keep the government open, averting a shutdown.” NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/live-updates-government-shutdown-set-begin-midnight-rcna118172
- “US Congress avoids government shutdown in last-minute deal.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66973976
- “Government Shutdown: Biden Signs Bill Keeping the Government Open Through Mid-November.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/09/30/us/government-shutdown-news
- “Biden signs bill to fund government ahead of shutdown deadline.” NY1. https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/09/29/house-republicans-shutdown-gop-biden-congress
Citations:
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congress-tees-up-votes-last-minute-scramble-avert-shutdown-2023-09-30/
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/30/government-shutdown-live-updates-congress-faces-funding-deadline.html
[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/live-updates-government-shutdown-set-begin-midnight-rcna118172
[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66973976
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/09/30/us/government-shutdown-news
[6] https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/09/29/house-republicans-shutdown-gop-biden-congress
