With only a little more than 12 hours to spare, the Republican-led Congress has put together a continuing resolution to allow the federal government to function, avoiding a shutdown some fear could be politically damaging.
The measure maintains government funding for just seven additional days. It passed the House by a 370-30 margin and was immediately messaged to the Senate, where after a brief delay it was adopted on a voice vote. President Trump still needs to sign the bill, and is likely to do so as he works with Congress to secure funding to begin construction on the southern border wall.
Republicans had attempted to pass a one-week “CR” on Thursday, but were blocked by Senate Democrats, who refused to do so without an agreement on a long-term funding proposal. They claim the GOP has inserted “poison pill” policy riders in the funding bill, and they will not vote on a long-term “CR” with those in place.
“Not all the poison pill riders have been eliminated,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Friday over his sudden change of heart. “We’re willing to extend things for a little time in hopes that the same kind of progress will be made.”
Insiders on Capitol Hill have suggested the House GOP leadership offered to delay the vote on the American Health Care Act to “sweeten the deal” with Democrats to avert a shutdown. But the issue hasn’t gone away.
But it does give the House a little more time to work on a continuing resolution to get through the remainder of the fiscal year. The end of Fiscal Year 2017 is Sept. 30. The new deadline to avoid a government shutdown is midnight next Friday. {eoa}
