With Government Shutdown Looming, House Dems Bring Forward Continuing Resolution

December 8, 2020 by Dan McCue
With Government Shutdown Looming, House Dems Bring Forward Continuing Resolution
Inaugural preparations underway at the U.S. Capitol, Nov. 12, 2020. (Photo by Dan McCue)

WASHINGTON – In what is probably one of her last acts as a member of Congress, retiring House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., introduced a continuing resolution to extend federal government funding through Dec. 18.

Widely expected, the move is intended to keep the government open after the current stopgap funding measure expires on Friday, so that lawmakers can put the finishing touches on both a spending plan and the latest iteration of coronavirus relief legislation.

“With a government shutdown deadline just days away, this continuing resolution is necessary to keep the government open as we work to complete the appropriations process and deliver meaningful coronavirus relief to the American people,” Lowey said.

“As we enact this temporary extension, we will continue to negotiate in good faith to complete our important work this month,” she said.

In addition to a funding extension, the legislation includes a one-week extension of certain health care programs.

House Democratic leaders initially hoped to wrap up work on an all-encompassing spending package, coronavirus economic relief and an annual defense policy bill by Friday.

That way they could send members home in time to quarantine for two weeks before spending Christmas with their families.

But Senators were always a bit less optimistic about that timeline and last minute snags doomed the hope of progressing so quickly.

In the end, as Lowey suggested, negotiators simply need more time to get the complex bills down.

That means members, many of them concerned about staying in town during a regional surge in COVID-19 cases, will need to hang on in Washington until their votes are needed.

Helping to stoke their concerns is the fact three House members tested positive for COVID-19 last week alone.

Further The Hill reports that of the 35 lawmakers who have tested positive since March, about 40% have been within the last month.

The House is slated to vote on the continuing resolution on Wednesday. The text of the legislation introduced today, H.R. 8900, is available here.

A+
a-
  • Congress
  • continuing resolution
  • coronavirus relief package
  • government shutdown
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Political News

    July 8, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    IRS Says Churches Should Be Allowed to Endorse Political Candidates

    WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service said in a court filing on Monday that it believes churches should be permitted... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service said in a court filing on Monday that it believes churches should be permitted to endorse political candidates, abandoning a decades-old rule that has been in place since the Eisenhower administration. The eye-opening statement came in a filing in the... Read More

    July 8, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Gun Rights Groups Sue to Block National Firearms Act Enforcement

    WASHINGTON — A coalition of Second Amendment advocates is suing to invalidate gun ownership restrictions that were revised by the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A coalition of Second Amendment advocates is suing to invalidate gun ownership restrictions that were revised by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act President Donald Trump signed July 4. The bill removes many of the National Firearms Act taxes associated with gun ownership. The... Read More

    Democrats See Trump’s Big Bill as Key to Their Comeback

    WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — It is big and it is beautiful, President Donald Trump says. But for many Democratic leaders, the tax... Read More

    WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — It is big and it is beautiful, President Donald Trump says. But for many Democratic leaders, the tax break and spending cut package passed by Trump's Republican allies in Congress on Thursday represents the key to the Democratic Party's resurgence. Even before the final vote,... Read More

    July 3, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    House Passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ White House Signing Ceremony Planned for Friday

    WASHINGTON — House Republicans passed the so-called “big, beautiful bill” on Thursday, sending it on to the White House where... Read More

    WASHINGTON — House Republicans passed the so-called “big, beautiful bill” on Thursday, sending it on to the White House where President Donald Trump is planning a signing ceremony for Friday. The 218-214 vote in the chamber was a high victory for both the president and House... Read More

    July 3, 2025
    by Sydney Devory
    Judge Blocks Trump Removal of Temporary Legal Protections for Haitians

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary legal status for... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary legal status for more than 500,000 Haitians currently living in the United States. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan ruled that abruptly moving up the expiration date of the temporary... Read More

    July 2, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    NewDEAL Launches The Roadmap on Substack 

    WASHINGTON — NewDEAL is launching a new venture. Well, sort of. What the center-left network of state and local elected... Read More

    WASHINGTON — NewDEAL is launching a new venture. Well, sort of. What the center-left network of state and local elected officials is really doing is launching The Roadmap, a new Substack publication it hopes will elevate the voices of rising and innovative state and local Democratic... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top