Congress has averted a government shutdown for this week, at least. On Thursday night, the Senate followed the House in passing a one-week continuing resolution to keep the government funded at its current level while negotiators work out an omnibus bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. (And at the beginning of the next fiscal year, in October 2023, Congress will pass a continuing resolution that kicks the can down the road a couple months until we are once again looking at the threat of a holiday government shutdown.)
A group of Republicans offered amendments to the continuing resolution, both of which were rejected. Sen. Mike Lee wanted to extend the stopgap’s length from a week to months, to push the omnibus bill into when Republicans will have control of the House, and Sen. Rick Scott wanted to eliminate additional IRS funding passed by Democrats earlier in the year.
The omnibus bill is being negotiated by Sens. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and Richard Shelby, a Republican, along with Democratic Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro—House Republicans are conspicuously absent from the dealmaking—who are keeping the details quiet but are reportedly making some progress toward an agreement days after they announced having a “framework” for a bill. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did concede that there was “a lot of work to do,” but DeLauro expressed confidence. “We're going to get an omnibus next week,” she said. “I'm resolute. I can't account for crazy things that come up, but that's my goal.”
RELATED STORY: The Republican state of play: McCarthy snipes at McConnell, Senate Republicans patronize McCarthy
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has backed the pursuit of a bill to cover the rest of the fiscal year, but has said that it must be ready by December 22 or he will withdraw his support for the process and agree only to another short-term extension. That highlights how short the time is to finalize a massive bill and get it through both chambers of Congress.
The spending bill will include around $858 billion in defense funding, but while they shovel cash toward the military, Republicans are arguing against nondefense domestic spending, because of course they are. For instance, they have wanted to count veterans’ health spending against their cap on nondefense domestic spending. They support the care for veterans, they claim—it should just be in competition with every other investment in the people of the United States and the basic functioning of the government, while military spending is in its own sacrosanct category. Similarly, Republicans—who spend so much time howling about the border and immigration—are resisting money for border enforcement. They claim it’s because there isn’t enough emphasis on deterrence, but Sen. Chris Murphy nailed what’s going on here when he said, “There's still a whole bunch of Republicans that are rooting for chaos on the border.”
President Joe Biden is also seeking additional funding for Ukraine and for dealing with natural disasters in the U.S., both priorities that would suffer if the spending bill gets pushed into 2023, giving House Republicans more leverage. In one piece of good news, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday night that there are enough votes to reform the Electoral Count Act, making the next Republican coup attempt a little more difficult.
While progressives strongly dislike the level of military spending planned, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal said her group plans to support the bill when it emerges. “We never liked this, but the reality is we also know we have to get this done because … a one-year CR would be terrible for people in this country.”
Jenifer Fernandez Ancona from Way to Win is our guest on this week’s Daily Kos’ The Brief. When we spoke with Jenifer back in April, she was right about Democratic messaging—and had the data to prove it. More election data has been rolling in from the midterms, and Jenifer is back to talk about what worked and what needs to change in order for the Democratic Party to keep winning.
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RELATED STORY:
Congress reaches early deal to keep government funded. Kevin McCarthy is not happy
A group of Republicans offered amendments to the continuing resolution, both of which were rejected. Sen. Mike Lee wanted to extend the stopgap’s length from a week to months, to push the omnibus bill into when Republicans will have control of the House, and Sen. Rick Scott wanted to eliminate additional IRS funding passed by Democrats earlier in the year.
The omnibus bill is being negotiated by Sens. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and Richard Shelby, a Republican, along with Democratic Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro—House Republicans are conspicuously absent from the dealmaking—who are keeping the details quiet but are reportedly making some progress toward an agreement days after they announced having a “framework” for a bill. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did concede that there was “a lot of work to do,” but DeLauro expressed confidence. “We're going to get an omnibus next week,” she said. “I'm resolute. I can't account for crazy things that come up, but that's my goal.”
RELATED STORY: The Republican state of play: McCarthy snipes at McConnell, Senate Republicans patronize McCarthy
Campaign Action
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has backed the pursuit of a bill to cover the rest of the fiscal year, but has said that it must be ready by December 22 or he will withdraw his support for the process and agree only to another short-term extension. That highlights how short the time is to finalize a massive bill and get it through both chambers of Congress.
The spending bill will include around $858 billion in defense funding, but while they shovel cash toward the military, Republicans are arguing against nondefense domestic spending, because of course they are. For instance, they have wanted to count veterans’ health spending against their cap on nondefense domestic spending. They support the care for veterans, they claim—it should just be in competition with every other investment in the people of the United States and the basic functioning of the government, while military spending is in its own sacrosanct category. Similarly, Republicans—who spend so much time howling about the border and immigration—are resisting money for border enforcement. They claim it’s because there isn’t enough emphasis on deterrence, but Sen. Chris Murphy nailed what’s going on here when he said, “There's still a whole bunch of Republicans that are rooting for chaos on the border.”
President Joe Biden is also seeking additional funding for Ukraine and for dealing with natural disasters in the U.S., both priorities that would suffer if the spending bill gets pushed into 2023, giving House Republicans more leverage. In one piece of good news, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday night that there are enough votes to reform the Electoral Count Act, making the next Republican coup attempt a little more difficult.
While progressives strongly dislike the level of military spending planned, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal said her group plans to support the bill when it emerges. “We never liked this, but the reality is we also know we have to get this done because … a one-year CR would be terrible for people in this country.”
Jenifer Fernandez Ancona from Way to Win is our guest on this week’s Daily Kos’ The Brief. When we spoke with Jenifer back in April, she was right about Democratic messaging—and had the data to prove it. More election data has been rolling in from the midterms, and Jenifer is back to talk about what worked and what needs to change in order for the Democratic Party to keep winning.
Embedded Content
RELATED STORY:
Congress reaches early deal to keep government funded. Kevin McCarthy is not happy