Lawmakers had returned to Congress September 9 following summer recess facing a September 30 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown ahead of the November 5 elections. Image: Orhan Cam/Shutterstock.com
UPDATED: Bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate have passed a measure to continue agency funding authority largely at current levels until December 20, in order to avoid a partial government shutdown that otherwise would start October 1.
The House last week raised the chances of the first shutdown in four years by rejecting a measure sponsored by Republican leadership there. That measure would have extended funding at current levels through March 28 while adding language to an already existing federal law making it illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
The White House and Democrats listed problems that would arise if agencies had to operate at fiscal 2024 levels for that long, and said the voting language would make it more difficult for citizens to register to vote. More than a dozen Republicans had joined Democrats in voting against the bill, although for different reasons, including the opposition of some to any short-term extension.
As has happened several times in this Congress with Republicans in the majority in the House, the measure to end the shutdown threat dropped the policy rider and accepted the Democratic position on the length of the extension. It meanwhile adds funding for the Secret Service, although not for a list of other programs for which the White House had sought additional funding.
The prior bills ultimately passed the House with the support of almost all Democrats and a segment of Republicans; and the same happened this week. The Senate quickly followed suit, with Congress then recessing until after the elections. President Biden is expected to sign the bill.
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