Congress Moves to Avert Partial Government Shutdown

September 30, 2021by Kevin Freking, Associated Press
Congress Moves to Avert Partial Government Shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters after a Democratic policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington. Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another. The Senate is poised to approve legislation Thursday that would keep the federal government running into early December. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another with the Senate poised to approve legislation that would fund the federal government into early December.

The House is expected to approve the measure following the Senate vote Thursday, preventing a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Friday.

Democrats were forced to remove a suspension of the federal government’s borrowing limit from the bill at the insistence of Republicans. If the debt limit isn’t raised by Oct. 18, the country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession, says Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Republicans say Democrats have the votes to raise the debt ceiling on their own, and Republican leader Mitch McConnell is insisting that they do so.

But the most immediate priority facing Congress is to keep the government running once the current fiscal year ends at midnight Thursday. The bill’s expected approval will buy lawmakers more time to craft the spending bills that will fund federal agencies and the programs they administer.

Meanwhile, Democrats are struggling over how to get President Joe Biden’s top domestic priorities over the finish line. Those include a bipartisan infrastructure bill that contains $550 billion in new spending for roads, bridges, broadband and other priorities, as well as a $3.5 trillion slate of social, health and environmental programs. 

“With so many critical issues to address, the last thing the American people need right now is a government shutdown,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Schumer said the stopgap spending legislation will also provide aid for those reeling from Hurricane Ida and other natural disasters as well as funding to support Afghanistan evacuees from the 20-year war between the U.S. and the Taliban.

Action in the final hours to avoid a partial government shutdown has become almost routine, with lawmakers usually able to fashion a compromise. The funding bill was slowed this time by disagreement over allowing the government to take on more debt so that it could continue to meet its financial obligations. Currently the borrowing cap is set at $28.4 trillion.

The U.S. has never defaulted on its debts in the modern era, and historically both parties have voted to raise the limit. Democrats joined the Republican Senate majority in doing so three times during Donald Trump’s presidency. This time Democrats wanted to take care of both priorities in one bill, but Senate Republicans blocked that effort Monday.

Raising or suspending the debt limit allows the federal government to pay obligations already incurred. It does not authorize new spending. McConnell has argued that Democrats should pass a debt limit extension with the same budgetary tools they are using to try to pass a $3.5 trillion effort to expand social safety net programs and tackle climate change.

“There is no tradition of doing this on a bipartisan basis. Sometimes we have and sometimes we haven’t,” McConnell told reporters about past debt ceiling increases. 

House Democrats complained about the steps they were being forced to take as they approved a standalone bill late Wednesday that would suspend the debt ceiling until December 2022. That bill now heads to the Senate, where it is almost certain to be blocked by a Republican filibuster.

“You are more interested in punishing Democrats than preserving our credit and that is something I’m having a real tough time getting my head around,” House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., told Republicans. “The idea of not paying bills just because we don’t like (Biden’s) policies is the wrong way to go.”

But Republicans were undaunted. They argued that Democrats have chosen to ram through their political priorities on their own, and thus are responsible for raising the debt limit on their own.

“So long as the Democratic majority continues to insist on spending money hand over fist, Republicans will refuse to help them lift the debt ceiling,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

McGovern said Republicans ballooned the debt under Trump and now are washing their hands of the consequences.

“Republicans have now rediscovered the issue of the debt,” McGovern said. “Where the hell were you the last four years?”

The Treasury has taken steps to preserve cash, but once it runs out, it will be forced to rely on incoming revenue to pay its obligations. That would likely mean delays in payments to Social Security recipients, veterans and government workers, including military personnel. The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank, projects that the federal government would be unable to meet about 40% of payments due in the several weeks that follow.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Slodysko contributed to this report.

A+
a-
  • Congress
  • continuing resolution
  • partial government shutdown
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Political News

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    New Dem Chair Kuster Announces Retirement Following 2024 Election

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition... Read More

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition in the House, revealed Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to Congress this year. In a lengthy statement released by her office, Kuster gives no... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    CPAC Releases Ranking of Most Conservative Members of Congress

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of the House and Senate based on their conservative bona fides or lack thereof. To produce this year’s scorecard, the CPAC foundation’s Center for Legislative Accountability analyzed... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    After a Decade on Capitol Hill, Brad Howard Steps Out on His Own

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and communications director of the Blue Dog Coalition, Brad Howard knew it was time for change. “It was time to move into the private sector,” he... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Greene Files Motion to Vacate Speaker’s Chair

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed... Read More

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed a motion to vacate the chair of the party’s speaker. But this time, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., says the motion is intended merely as a... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Gallagher to Leave Congress April 19

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on Friday by announcing he plans to leave April 19, several months before his current term is up. Gallagher’s impending departure will further shrink the razor-thin Republican... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Judge Upholds DC Law Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to invalidate a law giving noncitizens a right to vote in local elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act would allow anyone who is a resident... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top