(AFP) – US lawmakers took the first step Wednesday to avoid a government shutdown as the House of Representatives approved a stop-gap funding deal that will keep the lights on through the US election. The agreement — which is due to be rubber-stamped by the Senate within hours — came ahead of a September 30 deadline to either approve a new government budget or begin shutting down federal agencies just five weeks ahead of Election Day.
The measure, which advanced from the Republican-led House only after the minority Democrats made up for dozens of no votes from conservative rebels, would keep the government operational at current spending levels until December 20. “Americans can breathe easy that, because both sides have chosen bipartisanship, Congress is getting the job done,” Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said in a statement. “We will keep the government open. We will prevent vital government services from needlessly coming to a halt,” Schumer said.
Although there was less of the drama that usually attends funding fights, a shutdown did at one stage look like a distinct possibility, worrying the Republicans who control the House as they seek reelection on November 5. The stop-gap “continuing resolution” was required because neither chamber had been able to agree on the various departmental budgets for the full 2025 fiscal year, starting October 1.
Last week, hard-liners pushed for a bill that would have extended funding through March next year, paired with the SAVE Act, which would add proof-of-citizenship requirements to voter registration. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who dominates the House group and continues to claim falsely that he was cheated by voter fraud in the 2020 election, has been lobbying for House Speaker Mike Johnson to add the election measure. But the plan was scrapped as it became clear that it did not have enough support from Republicans — many of whom are against temporary funding bills as a matter of principle — and could not rely on Democratic votes.
President Joe Biden’s administration — worried about eligible voters being blocked from voter rolls or otherwise deterred — opposed the SAVE Act, noting that noncitizen voting is already illegal and that it almost never happens. Trump urged House Republicans to shut down the government over the issue, but they rebuffed the former president in a rare departure and opted to pass the new, non-partisan version of the bill that dispensed with the SAVE Act.
As part of the package, the House voted for more than $230 million for the Secret Service to increase protection for Trump — who has faced two assassination bids — and other candidates on the campaign trail. It was the final legislative action in Congress before the election. Most lawmakers in both chambers head back to their home states in the evening to campaign and are not expected back in Washington until after the election.
© 2024 AFP
