GOV’T WILL NOT SHUT, BUT FUND FIGHT FAR FROM DONE
Crisis averted for now, as pols bicker over trillions for bridges, roads, schools, power
Congress passed last-minute legislation on Thursday to avert a government shutdown, as top Democrats simultaneously dashed to solidify internal support for the twin planks of President Biden’s agenda.
The president signed the bill to keep the federal government funded until Dec. 3, after a back-and-forth between Democrats and Republicans on some of the legislation’s provisions, and after days of growing drama generated by the specter of a third government shutdown in four years.
The Senate passed the measure by a 65-35 vote shortly before 2 p.m., and the House followed suit in a 254-175 vote less than two hours later, sending the bill to Biden’s desk with breathing room ahead of a midnight deadline to keep the government open.
The resolution to the shutdown drama left a bundle of bedeviling bills still unresolved for Democrats, who were trying to push through an ambitious $3.5 trillion social spending bill and a $1 trillion infrastructure bill — which was due for a vote in the House on Thursday night.
“It’s going to be an eventful day,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters on Thursday morning.
The infrastructure legislation, which passed resoundingly in the Senate last month, has hit snags in the House. A critical component of the president’s so-called “Build Back Better Plan,” the bill carries investments in roads, public transportation and the electrical grid.
Progressives in the House have signaled they won’t vote for the legislation until the path is cleared for the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint, which includes sweeping climate provisions and enhancements to the social safety net.
Democrats intend to shield the larger piece of legislation from a filibuster through a process called reconciliation. But it still faces a steep path in the evenly split Senate, where a pair of centrist Democrats are opposed to its size and scope.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) said Thursday that his “top line” for the budget plan is just $1.5 trillion, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has also expressed reservations about the $3.5 trillion package.
Pelosi delayed the vote on the infrastructure package from Monday, bowing to progressive resistance. It didn’t appear Pelosi had made significant progress in the intervening days; liberals continued to signal they would sink the $1 trillion bill.
“To live up to the promises we ran on, we need to fully pass President Biden’s agenda,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y. ), a progressive, tweeted on Wednesday. “To fully pass President Biden’s agenda, we need to pass reconciliation alongside infrastructure.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) directed members of his party to vote against the infrastructure bill, and indicated that there would not be more than 40 Republicans defecting. The Democrats have an eight-seat advantage in the chamber, giving them little margin to lose progressive votes without significant GOP defections.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, estimated on Sunday night that around 60 members of
her caucus were ready to vote against the bill. On Thursday, she reaffirmed her resistance, saying: “We will not be able to vote for the infrastructure bill until the reconciliation bill has passed. So we’re in the same place.”
“We’re going to stay here all weekend if we need to — to see if we can get to a deal,” she added.
All the while, Democrats and Republicans remained in a stalemate over lifting the debt ceiling, a once procedural custom on Capitol Hill that has fallen victim to political maneuvering. Republicans said they wouldn’t support raising the borrowing cap.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress on Tuesday that there could be “catastrophic” consequences if the debt limit isn’t dealt with by Oct. 18. The borrowing cap presently sits at $28.4 trillion; the U.S. hasn’t defaulted on its debt in modern times.
Still, Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.) described a “glimmer of hope” as he hailed the clearing of the shutdown obstacle. The measure to avoid the shutdown also promises funding to support evacuees from Afghanistan and aid for victims of Hurricane Ida.
A shutdown could have led to furloughs for three in five workers in the federal government’s 2 million-strong civilian workforce, and perhaps delayed efforts to approve a coronavirus vaccination for youngsters under 12.
“With so many things to take care of here in Washington, the last thing the American people need is for the government to grind to a halt,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Just as our Republican colleagues realize that a government shutdown would be catastrophic, they should realize that a default on the national debt would be even worse.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, on the other hand, accused the Democrats of having attempted a “partisan” jam by attaching a debt limit increase to the government funding bill.
“We’re able to fund the government today because the majority accepted reality,” he said. “The same thing will need to happen on the debt limit next week.”
The day marked a pivotal moment in a make-or-break week for the president’s eightmonth-old administration, and Democrats were left to play Whac-A-Mole with the dizzying legislative challenges.
Despite stiff opposition from some progressives on the infrastructure bill, Pelosi continued to push hard throughout the day. The battle-tested lawmaker, who reversed course after once vowing Democrats would not move on the infrastructure bill before the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, expressed optimism in the morning as she barreled forward.
“We’re on a path to win the vote,” Pelosi said. “I don’t want to even consider any options other than that — that’s just the way it is and that’s our culture. You don’t understand that culture, you don’t understand that culture, but that’s our culture. We go in it to win it.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat, didn’t sound quite so sanguine. Asked if he felt confident that the $1 trillion bill would pass, the Maryland lawmaker said: “Nope.”
As the day went on, Pelosi staged a furious push to corral support and affirmed the vote would go on Thursday night.
But Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), another member of the Progressive Caucus, said she hadn’t seen much changing.
“We don’t have the votes to pass infrastructure,” she said. “I have not noticed anyone budging at the moment.”