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House Speaker Mike Johnson at the US Capitol on January 12, 2024, in Washington, DC.
CNN
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Lawmakers are racing the clock to avert a partial shutdown with just four days left until funding for key government agencies expires.
To prevent a shutdown, the House and Senate must pass a short-term funding extension this week to allow more time for full-year appropriations bills to be negotiated and passed.
Congressional leaders announced over the weekend that the short-term funding extension will set up two new funding deadlines on March 1 and March 8.
There are challenges ahead, however, in both chambers as lawmakers work to stave off a shutdown. In addition to the tight timeframe, there is a chance that winter weather could create scheduling issues as Washington, DC, saw snowfall Monday and Tuesday.
The House scrapped votes for Tuesday evening, citing the weather. The Senate is still scheduled to be in later Tuesday. The Office of Personnel Management, which dictates much of the federal government’s operating procedures, said DC area federal offices are closed for the day.
The Senate is gearing up for a procedural vote to advance the short-term funding extension Tuesday evening. The vote is expected to succeed, but a time agreement will still need to be reached to schedule a final passage vote before Friday. If any senator objects, that could slow the process and threaten a shutdown.
“On Tuesday, the Senate will begin the process to pass a clean continuing resolution that will avert a shutdown and give Congress the time it needs to finish our work to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “To avoid a shutdown, it will take bipartisan cooperation in the Senate and the House to quickly pass the CR and send it to the President’s desk before Friday’s funding deadline.”
Schumer emphasized on Tuesday that they will need full cooperation from both parties in both chambers to avert a shutdown. “If both sides continue to work in good faith, I’m hopeful that we can wrap up work on the CR no later than Thursday,” he said. “The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation in both chambers, you can’t pass these bills without support from Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate.”
In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson faces an extremely narrow majority and is facing pushback from his right flank.
Johnson has already faced fierce criticism from conservatives over a topline spending deal he struck with Schumer, which would set spending at close to $1.66 trillion overall. And conservatives were quick to criticize the proposal for a short-term funding extension after it was announced over the weekend.
“This is what surrender looks like,” the far-right House Freedom Caucus posted on X.
Johnson has defended the topline agreement and said in a statement Sunday that the short-term spending bill “is required to complete what House Republicans are working hard to achieve: an end to governance by omnibus, meaningful policy wins, and better stewardship of American tax dollars.”
In a rare event, lawmakers are confronting not one but two government shutdown deadlines early this year – on January 19 and February 2.
Congress passed stopgap legislation in November extending government funding until January 19 for priorities including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The rest of the government is funded until February 2.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
