Stopgap Spending Threatens Shutdown

As Sept. 30 and the threat of a federal government shutdown looms closer, the House of Representatives continues to debate and restructure the stopgap spending bill to prevent the national government from going dark.

Although federal government funding is currently still being argued over, Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass a stopgap spending bill. If the legislative branch cannot vote on agreeable terms, most of the U.S. government will come to a halt until congressional compromise.

Anxiety about the stopgap spending bill has steadily increased as House Republicans have been divided over the contents of the governmental funding bill. 

On Sept. 22, the conservative portion of the House GOP expressed dissatisfaction with allowing additional Ukraine aid to be inserted into the spending package for the U.S. government and not Ukraine’s. 

The original appropriations section of the spending bill gave the Pentagon $300 million in additional aid for the Eastern European country, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed would be stripped from the modified appropriations after conservative Republicans voted against it.

“McCarthy said he would remove the $300 million for Ukraine currently in the Pentagon appropriations bill and hold a separate vote on the funding. 

‘It would be out and voted on by itself,’ McCarthy said when asked about the Ukraine aid in the Pentagon appropriations bill,” according to The Hill.

However, the House has only approved four of the twelve separate appropriations bills needed to fund the government. An additional reason for the GOP hold out on the spending bill has been the desire for security domestic policy-oriented, rather than foreign policy-oriented, as a spending bill for the domestic country of interest should be.

Rep. Jim Jordan gave some statements regarding how some House GOP members wish to achieve funding for massive internal issues facing the country right now instead of sending millions of dollars across the water.

“‘Well, everyone wants to get the 12 appropriation bills done. I’m all for that. That’s how we should operate, but, frankly, we’re not going to get it done in the next six days, so there’s going to have to be some stopgap measure,’ Jordan said. ‘The speaker has said: “Let’s go for a 30-day [continuing resolution], but let’s win some policies when we do it, let’s do something that actually benefits the entire country.” And everyone knows what that issue is…the one really good issue right now is the problem on our border,’” according to the Washington Examiner.

House Republicans are deliberating what is essential for government funding, contrary to the Democratically-controlled 117th Congress who imbued their stopgap bill with multiple unnecessary political objectives.

The appropriations bills in the works are expected to progress to the Senate for confirmation later this week.

Amidst the emergent threat of a government shutdown, President Biden will be taking this time to travel to Michigan to support the 2023 United Auto Workers strike. 

The unexpected move by President Biden was announced by the White House on Friday, Sept. 22. 

The president is expected to “head to Michigan on Tuesday to meet with striking United Auto Workers union members. ‘The President will join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create,’ is said in a statement,” according to NBC News.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg gave his support, voicing how the Biden administration wishes for the “‘auto sector to succeed, as well,’ and said it is ‘pushing the parties to get to a win-win deal that does right by workers,’” according to NBC News.

Despite indirectly causing some of the issues the auto workers are striking for through encouraging a limping economy and increasing inflation, President Biden has decided  to recognize auto workers in this historic event … with an ongoing threat of government shutdown awaiting him at his return.