House passes bill to avoid shutdown
WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Thursday that funds the government through Feb. 18 and avoids a short-term shutdown after midnight Friday, but quick Senate approval was in doubt because of a fight over President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
An agreement among congressional leaders announced earlier in the day would keep the government running for 11 more weeks, generally at current spending levels while adding $7 billion to aid Afghan refugees.
The Democratic-led House passed the measure by a 221-212 vote. The Republican leadership urged members to vote no; the lone GOP vote for the bill came from Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
Lawmakers bemoaned the short-term fix and blamed the opposing party for the lack of progress on this year’s spending bills. Rep. Rosa Delauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the measure would, however, allow for talks on a package covering the remainder of the budget year through September.
“Make no mistake, a vote against this continuing resolution is a vote to shut government down,” Delauro said during the House debate.
Before the House acted, President Joe Biden said he had spoken with Senate leaders and he played down fears of a shutdown.
“There is a plan in place unless somebody decides to be totally erratic, and I don’t think that will happen,” Biden said.
Conservative Republicans opposed to Biden’s vaccine rules want Congress to take a hard stand against the mandated shots for workers at larger businesses, even if that means shutting down federal offices over the weekend.
Republicans said during the debate that they had made it clear in the summer that they would not support spending bills that include “irresponsible spending increases and extreme policies.”
“Unfortunately, that is exactly where we find ourselves,” said Rep. Kay Granger, R-fort Worth.
Democrats were able to use their majority to advance the spending bill. They have a more difficult task in the 50-50 Senate, where objections by just one senator can slow a final vote past Friday’s midnight deadline. That could mean a short-term shutdown into the weekend.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., reiterated that there will be no shutdown.
“We’re not going to do that,” he said Thursday.
The administration has pursued vaccine requirements, but the effort is facing legal setbacks.
A federal judge this week blocked the administration from enforcing a vaccine mandate in 10 states. Earlier, a federal appeals court temporarily halted the OSHA requirement affecting employers with 100 or more workers.