In a swift series of moves, both houses of Congress passed a stopgap plan to keep the federal government running until mid-November, with President Biden signing the measure just hours before a government shutdown deadline.
In so doing, Congress and the President agreed to extend government funding at current levels.
With a divided membership and angry debates, the action was focused on the House, where the plan was approved on a 335 to 91 vote. The vote in the Senate was 88 in favor to 9 opposed.
“The American people can breathe a sigh of relief: there will be no government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York declared after the upper chamber approved the plan.
“We’re going to keep the government open,” exclaimed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is facing a move calling for his ouster among some members of his caucus for backing the plan.
In signing the bill, Biden declared: “We should never have been in this position in the first place,” noting that the administration and Speaker McCarthy had forged a budget agreement several months ago.
Despite the vote approving the stopgap plan, notes the New York Times, the measure is “only a temporary solution to the spending fight, which is likely to be quickly rekindled.”
In the weeks ahead, members of Congress are expected to tackle such thorny issues as the overall size of the federal government budget, and both increased funding for border security and aid to Ukraine as the November 17 government funding deadline nears.
The bill signed by Biden includes $16 billion for disaster relieve, and also reauthorizes, at least until November 17, the Federal Aviation Administration. Had the measure not passed, it was expected that up to 800,000 federal employees would have been sent home, with a variety of agencies closing down.
According to sources, a government shutdown would have also put on hold any number of federal transportation construction projects and would have also seen the closing of some federal museums and parks. The shutdown would have additionally forced the Small Business Administration to delay processing small business loans.
Congressional attention is now expected to focus on the appropriations for fiscal year 2024. Top funding levels, notes the publication Government Executive, “were previously set under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a law that raised the debt ceiling and set spending caps through fiscal 2025.”
By Garry Boulard
