Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) set up a path to vote on a bill to fund the government’s remaining agencies Friday, putting in place an alternative plan in case a time agreement is not met ahead of a looming partial government shutdown at midnight.
The action in the Senate comes after the House passed the remainder of its annual appropriations bills on Friday, marking the first step toward avoiding a shutdown, just hours before federal funding is set to lapse. However, there’s some uncertainty about whether the Senate will be able to move the legislation ahead of the midnight deadline.
Schumer filed cloture on the bill as a contingency plan if a deal is not reached on possible amendments and final passage Friday night. If opponents of the bill do not relent, the Senate would not be able to speed up the process, and it would mean the upper chamber would not be able to move forward with a vote to break the filibuster until Sunday, more than 24 hours into a partial shutdown.
“There is no reason to delay,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Friday after the House vote. “There is no reason to drag out this process. If senators cooperate on a time agreement, if we prioritize working together, just as we did two weeks ago, I am optimistic we can succeed.
“But if individual senators resort to partisanship and stonewalling and dithering, those individuals will almost guarantee that we shut down, and the process could drag into Saturday, Sunday, and possibly beyond,” he added.
The bill funds the departments of Defense, Labor, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, State, Education, and the legislative branch.
Both Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the chairwoman and vice chairwoman, respectively, of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took a victory lap, praising the bipartisan process in which the deal was negotiated.
“I urge my colleagues in voting for this final FY2024 appropriations package and complete our fundamental job of funding our government,” Collins said in a speech on the floor.
Murray emphasized the importance of a speedy vote in an effort to ensure the government does not have a lapse in funding at midnight.
“I hope my colleagues will work with me to close the book on FY24, avoid a shutdown, and get this bill passed as soon as possible,” Murray said. “And then, let’s make sure we all learn the hard lessons from the past few months about how we do get things done in divided government.”
Some Republicans in the upper chamber have sounded the alarm over earmarks inserted throughout the latest government spending legislation that fund “pet projects” in lawmakers’ districts.
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“Congress is poised to spend a third more dollars than they receive,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said Friday. “This is essentially equivalent to a family at home making $45,000 dollars but spending $60,000. No American family can do this, but that’s what is happening here.”
Paul and others who have raised concerns with the price tag of the legislation have not yet indicated whether they will hold up the process.
