Congress avoids shutdown with spending measure
WASHINGTON – Congress once again forestalled a government shutdown — with a short-term funding measure through mid-January — and temporarily extended funding for health insurance for children from low-income families.
The House voted 231-188 Thursday to approve a short-term spending bill that would fund most government programs at current levels through Jan. 19.
The Senate quickly followed suit, passing the bill on a 66-32 vote.
The government was scheduled to run out of money at midnight Friday, raising the possibility of a partial shutdown heading into the Christmas holidays.
Temporary funding is needed because Congress has been unable to agree on long-term government spending levels since the 2017 fiscal year ended last September. The government has been operating on a series of short-term extensions of last year’s budget.
The measure approved Thursday would keep the government operating for a few more weeks but puts off until next year a number of tough decisions, including the reinstatement of government subsidies for health insurers providing coverage to low-income clients and protections for young Americans brought into the USA illegally by their parents.
In a separate vote, the House advanced an $81 billion package of disaster assistance funding for states and U.S. territories ravaged by recent hurricanes and forest fires.
During Thursday’s debate, House Republicans said that, although not ideal, the temporary funding is needed to give lawmakers more time to resolve long-term spending issues.
A vote against the funding measure “is a vote to shut down the government,” said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.
Most Democrats refused to support the measure and accused Republicans of abdicating their fiscal responsibilities by delaying long-term spending decisions and passing a $1.5 trillion tax package that would benefit corporations and the wealthy.
Short-term funding amounts to “an inefficient waste of taxpayer dollars” and “an epic failure of governing,” said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
Fourteen Democrats voted for the spending measure, while 16 Republicans voted against it.
Hard-line conservative Republicans were unhappy because the bill did not include long-term funding for defense programs.