Congress entering crisis mode as shutdown looms
WASHINGTON — Congress is rushing headlong into crisis mode Tuesday with a government shutdown days away, as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means halting pay for the military and curtailing federal services for millions of Americans.
There’s no clear path ahead as lawmakers return with tensions high and options limited. The House is expected to launch an evening vote on a package of bills to fund parts of the government, but it’s not at all clear that McCarthy has the support needed as holdouts demand steeper spending cuts.
“It’s easy,” McCarthy quipped Tuesday when asked about keeping the government open.
But with just five days to go before Saturday’s deadline, the Senate is trying to stave off a federal closure as the hard-right flank seizes control of the House. Senators unveiled a bipartisan stopgap measure to keep offices funded for temporarily, through Nov. 17, to buy time for Congress to finish its work.
The 79-page Senate bill would fund the government at current levels and include about $6 billion supplemental funding for Ukraine and $6 billion in US disaster assistance that has been in jeopardy.
It also includes an extension of Federal Aviation Administration provisions expiring Saturday.
Ahead of a test vote Tuesday evening, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the temporary measure from the Senate “a bridge towards cooperation and away from extremism.”
With a supportive nod, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared on board with the bipartisan Senate plan saying, “Government shutdowns are bad news.”
A government shutdown would disrupt the US economy and the lives of millions of Americans who work for the government or rely on federal services — from the military personnel and air traffic controllers who would be asked to work without pay to some 7 million people in the Women, Infants and Children program, including half the babies born in the US, who could lose access to nutritional benefits, according to the White House.