Congress Avoids Government Shutdown, Sets Up Funding Showdowns for January, February
Updated November 17, 2023: Late Thursday, November 16, 2023, President Biden signed the continuing resolution into law, officially averting a government shutdown.
Late Wednesday night, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the continuing resolution (CR), on a vote of 87-11, avoiding a partial government shutdown so long as President Biden signs the bill before funding lapses on November 17.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor before the vote that 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.”
The measure keeps the government funded at current levels until the new year. The dates are “laddered” a novel measure that was pushed through by new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Under the “laddered” CR, funding for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Energy and Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation Housing and Urban Development expires on January 19, 2024.
Funding for Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, State and Foreign Operations, expires February 2, 2024.
Mathew Silverman, the new National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), applauded Congress for coming together to avert a shutdown and encouraged more bipartisan cooperation.
“FLEOA applauds Congress for coming together to ensure federal employees get paid through the holiday season. But this is not the end, Congress must pass full year appropriations. We should not be in the same position, having the same conversations in two months. It is our hope this week’s votes are the start of more diligent cooperation aimed at keeping the government functioning effectively for all Americans,” Silverman said.
Speaker Johnson said the continuing resolution avoids a massive omnibus bill passed right before the holidays and gives appropriators more time to work on twelve full-year funding bills. The Speaker also vowed not to do any more short-term funding measures.
Funding Fight Looms in House and Senate
Once Congress returns after the Thanksgiving break, the clock ticks to get full-year appropriations bills passed before the January and February deadlines.
So far, House Republicans passed five full-year appropriations bills and have faced backlash from members on the right. On Wednesday, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill failed in a procedural vote.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry said the vote was "a response to our dissatisfaction and our unwillingness to comply and play a part in this failure theater."
After the CR vote, the House recessed early for Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate do not have a topline budget target they have agreed to work with. The spring debt limit suspension compromise set funding targets higher than many Republicans support, leading some House Republicans to propose steeper cuts than originally agreed to. The Senate bills however, meet the compromise targets and add about $14 billion to them.
Roll Call reports the chambers are about $75 billion apart right now, mostly on non-defense spending.
“The Senate operated under the assumption that what was agreed to by the former speaker and the president is what we were to mark to,” said Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS). “We need to find out what the House’s position is now, and then try to resolve whatever differences there are.”
Ukraine Aid in Question
The CR passed without President Biden’s request for nearly $106 billion in supplemental aid. The supplemental request included $61 billion for Ukraine, while the rest of the money was for Israel, Taiwan, the border, and other issues.
Republicans have demanded more money for border security and immigration enforcement be tied into Ukraine and Israel funding.
A bipartisan Senate group working on a possible compromise has so far struggled to find consensus.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer said that Democrats will negotiate in good faith on the border in coming weeks. However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that Democrats didn’t seem willing to make the changes needed to stem the flow of migrants into the U.S.