US Senate Democrats tee up bill to avert government shutdown

WASHINGTON — US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday (Nov 9) took a procedural step to allow the Democratic-majority chamber to pass a stopgap government funding bill before a Nov 17 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown.

The take

Disputes within the fractious House of Representatives Republican majority have prevented that chamber from voting on a stopgap funding measure known as a continuing resolution, or CR.

If House Republicans fail to start that process in time, Senate Democrats could pass a bill of their own, which would need House approval, to head off the fourth partial government shutdown in a decade.

Context

* Congress has not yet finished with the 12 appropriations bills it needs to pass to fund the government through Sept 30.

* It passed a temporary funding bill on Sept 30 to give it more time, but shortly afterward, a small group of House hardliners ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the deal, kicking off a three-week leadership fight that ended in the election of Republican Mike Johnson on Oct 25.

* The two parties do not agree on a topline 2024 spending figure. Democratic President Joe Biden and McCarthy in May set a US$1.59 trillion (S$2.2 trillion) discretionary spending budget, but hardline Republicans have pushed for an additional US$120 billion in cuts.

* The US recorded a nearly US$1.7 trillion deficit in its most recent fiscal year, its largest since a budget gap fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

What's next

* Democrats and Republicans in both chambers will continue negotiations on finding a path forward ahead of the deadline, in the hopes of averting a shutdown.

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