The House of Representatives of the United States House Passes Bill to Avert Shutdown in 2023 has successfully passed before the holiday season, securing broad bipartisan support with a vote of 336 to 95.
Only two Democrats and 93 Republicans voted against the bill. The legislation will now advance to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated swift consideration.
What happened in the United States House?
To avert a government shutdown during the pre-holiday period, the House initially extended government funding for fiscal year 2023 until November 17, providing additional time for Congress to pass individual appropriations bills.
However, faced with another impending deadline, leaders in both the House and Senate agreed on the necessity of another short-term extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR).
The successful passage of the bill marks a significant legislative test for Speaker Mike Johnson, who assumed the role less than a month ago following the removal of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Despite more Democrats supporting the bill than Republicans, Johnson secured a win by gaining majority support from his GOP Conference for the CR.
The bill, proposed by Johnson, introduces two separate deadlines for funding different government sectors, aiming to establish more focused objectives. It sets a deadline of January 19 for addressing appropriations bills related to military construction and Veterans Affairs, agriculture, energy and water, transportation, and housing and urban development.
According to the reports from the White House, President Joe Biden is prepared to sign the House-approved government funding bill if it is passed by the Senate.
House Democrats “have repeatedly articulated that any continuing resolution must be set at the fiscal year 2023 spending level, be devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy riders,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, said.
Conclusion
Congress is in its third fiscal standoff this year, following a months-long spring impasse over the more-than-$31 trillion in US debt, which brought the federal government to the brink of default.
The ongoing partisan gridlock led Moody’s survey to lower its credit rating outlook on the United States to “negative” from “stable,” as it noted that high-interest rates would continue to drive borrowing costs higher.
Some hardline Republicans were frustrated that the bill did not include steep spending cuts and border security measures.
Democrats pressed for their own add-ons including aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan but each now looks set to be dealt with separately, with a $61bn request from the White House for Kyiv looking particularly precarious amid conservative opposition.
It would be to see if the federal government shutdown really ends as the United States is dealing with serious fiscal deficits. And would this be good news for Joe Biden’s presidential candidature in 2024?
