Congress passes a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown

• The Senate has approved a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown that was scheduled to occur on November 17.
• The resolution would extend funding for some government agencies until January 19, 2024, and for the rest until February 2, 2024.
• “This CR feeds Washington’s spending addiction while funding direct attacks on our security, prosperity and way of life,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Both houses of Congress have approved a bill to temporarily fund the US government until early 2024, after a Senate vote on Wednesday, after they failed to pass appropriations bills for the current fiscal year .

The Other Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act of 2024commonly known as the “continuing resolution” or “CR,” it would temporarily fund certain government agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, until January 19, 2024, while financed the rest of the government until February 2, 2024. The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 87 to 11 after being past by the House on Tuesday, thus avoiding a government shutdown on November 17, when it was funded under a previous continuing resolution was set to expire.

“The House CR is far from perfect, but we’re moving forward because we believe it accomplishes two things that I and other Democrats have been pushing for weeks: It will avoid a government shutdown, and it will do so without any of the cruel cuts or poison pills that intended by the right,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday shortly after he moved to limit debate and bring the bill to a quick vote. “I think that was very important [House] loudspeaker [Mike] Johnson acknowledged that Democratic votes are needed to pass anything relevant in Congress.”

.@SpeakerJohnson (R-LA) outlined his strategy for passing a two-step continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown this Friday. Asked if he was worried about keeping his post in light of the Tory opposition, he said: “I’m not worried at all.” pic.twitter.com/z0yukppquO

— CSPAN (@cspan) November 14, 2023

The two CR funding due dates, January 19 and February 2, were the result of a commitment that Johnson and House Republican leaders negotiated in their conference call to introduce the measure, with agencies whose funding expires early covered by appropriations bills the House passed earlier, but on the provisions of which he has not reached an agreement with the Senate. Still, the CR’s failure to make cuts in spending levels was unacceptable to many House Republicans, with 93 of them voting against the bill on Tuesday.

The CR funds the government at enacted levels for fiscal year 2023, enacted by Democrats in the 117th Congress. It also extends authorization for several agricultural programs normally dispensed under a “Farm Bill,” which was last passed in 2018 and is set to expire at the end of 2023.

The CR also includes a provision to pay the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who died Sept. 29, the remainder of her salary for the year, which is $174,000.

Many House Republicans who voted against the bill lamented the absence of spending cuts. “This CR feeds Washington’s spending addiction while funding direct attacks on our security, prosperity and way of life: Biden and Mayorkas’ open border policies, UN anti-Israel programs, diversity across the government and CRT programs, abortion tourism and transgender surgeries. at the Pentagon, an armed DOJ, anti-energy policies and too many others to list,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas wrote to The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Passage of the previous CR on Sept. 30, whose funding levels have been continued in this bill, led to the removal of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy from office by all Democrats and eight Republicans in the House led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who accused him of betraying a spending agreement. As of Wednesday, the House had passed just seven of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government for the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.

The House won’t vote on more bills until Nov. 28, when it returns from a two-week recess for Thanksgiving. The bill will become law when it is signed by President Joe Biden.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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