US Congress passes stopgap bill, preventing govt shutdown before election

The US Congress on Wednesday passed a stopgap bill to prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin next week, despite a significant revolt among House Republicans against their leadership for not securing new federal spending cuts.
Also Read: Donald Trump’s impact on US Polls 2024: Navigating fake news, policy shifts, and voter sentiment
As reported by Reuters, the Democratic-majority Senate approved the bill with a vote of 78-18, just hours after the House of Representatives passed it. This measure will maintain the government’s current discretionary funding level of approximately $1.2 trillion through December 20, thereby avoiding the furlough of thousands of federal workers and the shutdown of many government services just weeks before the November 5 election.
In a post on X, US President Joe Biden wrote, “Today, Congress passed a bipartisan bill to keep the government open, avoiding a costly government shutdown. My Administration will continue to work with Congress to pass funding bills that deliver for the American people.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to use a parliamentary maneuver to bypass the House Rules Committee to overcome opposition within his own Republican Party, which holds a 220-212 majority in the chamber. The measure passed the House 341-82, with all “no” votes were cast by Republicans.
Also Read: US Presidential polls 2024: THESE seven critical ‘swing states’ to determine next US President
The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to sign into law before current funding expires at midnight Monday.
Congress acted with an unusually tight timeline to pass the stopgap bill, allowing members to return to campaigning in their districts before the election. A notable number of House Republicans opposed their leadership and voted against the measure after Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, advocated for a shutdown unless controversial legislation was included to ban non-citizen voting in federal elections—an act that is already illegal.
Hard-right House Republicans had been pushing for a six-month stopgap measure with the election piece attached, but last week failed to pass that bill, which would have been lost in the Senate anyway.
Nonetheless, some of the most conservative Republicans thought Johnson and all rank-and-file Republicans should have fought harder against a Democratic victory, even if it meant a shutdown.
Also Read: US presidential polls 2024: Barack Obama endorses Kamala Harris, ‘She understands what it takes to build….’
The Moody’s credit ratings agency warned this week that it expects the polarized U.S. political environment to cause the federal government’s fiscal health to deteriorate. The last of the three major rating agencies to maintain a top rating for the U.S. government in November 2024 lowered its credit outlook on the U.S. to “negative.”
Johnson has repeatedly had to bypass his own restive caucus to pass critical legislation. In March, the House passed the current funding bill despite 112 Republican “no” votes.
April brought the passage of nearly $61 billion in new aid for Ukraine, which has battled a Russian invasion since 2022. Again, 112 Republicans voted against Johnson’s effort.
Also Read: US Elections 2024: Kamala Harris widens lead over Donald Trump nationally, favourite among Asian Americans
Johnson’s predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was removed by hard-line Republicans in a historic vote, following his bipartisan spending and debt ceiling agreement with Biden. This contentious issue is set to resurface later this year, as both parties will need to negotiate full-year government funding.
Additionally, they face a critical self-imposed deadline of January 1 to either raise the nation’s debt ceiling or risk defaulting on over $35 trillion in federal government debt.
(With inputs from Reuters)