House of Representatives Avert Government Shutdown

The House of Representatives voted 335-91 Saturday afternoon to fund the federal government for 45 days and avert a shutdown.

90 Republicans and one Democrat voted no on the short-term measure to avoid a shutdown.

Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois was the lone Democrat to vote no on the resolution.

“The funding bill that just passed the House is a victory for Putin and his sympathizers. We now have 45 days to correct this mistake. I had a responsibility to voice my opposition and raise concerns before pro-Russia Republicans try to claim victory in the next funding agreement,” Quigley said.

The funding bill that just passed the House is a victory for Putin and his sympathizers. We now have 45 days to correct this mistake. I had a responsibility to voice my opposition and raise concerns before pro-Russia Republicans try to claim victory in the next funding agreement.

— Mike Quigley (@RepMikeQuigley) September 30, 2023

“The bill does not contain funding for Ukraine that was sought by Democrats but opposed by many Republicans,” CBS News reports.

The resolution does contain spending for disaster relief.

“It was tough, but we got it through,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

https://twitter.com/kylenabecker/status/1708195607112740969

NBC News reports:

The bill now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers there say they will not object to a speedy vote; that vote is expected to take place in the next few hours after Senate Democrats meet.

The bill would keep the government open for another 45 days if signed into law by President Joe Biden. And it will buy more time for the House and Senate to finish fuller funding legislation.

The stunning deal came together after McCarthy reversed course and put a so-called “clean” 45-day CR on the floor, with billions in disaster aid but none of the new Ukraine aid in a separate Senate deal, after insisting for days that any short-term funding bill would need to include deep spending cuts and tough border security measures.

By putting a clean bill on the floor, McCarthy dared Democrats to vote against it and shut down the government. Democrats raised objections to the lack of Ukraine aid and bitterly complained that they had not had time to read the 71-page bill, with leadership stalling by using procedural tactics and giving lengthy speeches so they could study the details.

🚨Shutdown averted🚨

335-91: House just passed a 45-day stopgap resolution that does not include border security funding or Ukraine aid.

90 GOP Nos
1 Dem No

Onto the Senate. pic.twitter.com/2CRfYDHa3U

— The Recount (@therecount) September 30, 2023

CBS News added:

The White House welcomed passage of the House bill, noting that it “keeps the government open at a higher funding levels than the Senate bill and includes disaster relief and FAA authorization,” a White House official said. The official, noting McCarthy’s support for Ukraine funding, said the White House expects he “will bring a separate bill to the floor shortly.”

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, of South Dakota, also said Ukrainians “should not take anything negative” from the vote Saturday, and added, “we can do border security and a supplemental on Ukraine in a connected type of approach somewhere in a very short time period, whether that’s over the next two days, three days, 10 days.”

Before the House vote, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, initially said Democrats needed more time to review the bill and criticized Republicans for “rushing it at the 11th hour, when in fact, just yesterday, extreme MAGA Republicans voted on a bill that would slash spending by 30%.”

To give Democrats more time to read the bill, Jeffries spoke for nearly an hour on the House floor, using his “magic minute” — a privilege that allows House leaders to speak for a virtually unlimited time.

The Senate had been working on advancing its own bill that was initially supported by Democrats and Republicans and would fund the government through Nov. 17.

But once the House plan emerged, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his members to vote no on advancing the Senate version to see whether the House could get its temporary funding measure passed.

“It looks like there may be a bipartisan agreement coming from the House,” McConnell said. “So, I’m fairly confident that most of my members, our members are going to vote against cloture — not necessarily because they’re opposed to the underlying bill, but see what the House can do on a bipartisan basis and then bring it over to us. So, under these circumstances, I’m recommending a no vote, even though I very much want to avoid a government shutdown.”