Senate passes 45-day funding bill to prevent government shutdown

About three hours before the midnight deadline, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to keep the government funded for 45 days on Saturday evening by an 88 to 9 vote., just before a government shutdown Had to come into effect.

The bill, which funds the government until November 17, now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature.

Mr Biden said in a statement after the passage, “Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that could cause unnecessary suffering to millions of hardworking Americans. Was.” “This bill ensures active-duty troops will continue to be paid, travelers will be protected from airport delays, millions of women and children will continue to receive critical nutrition assistance, and much more. This is good news for the American people “

No Democratic senators voted against the measure, with no votes coming from all nine Republicans.

“This has been a day full of ups and downs, but the American people can take a sigh of relief,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor after the vote. “There will be no government shutdown.”

The House passed the measure that afternoon after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced in the morning that he would try to push a short-term funding bill through the House with Democratic help — a move that could keep the government open. But it will stop his speech. In danger.

The bill ultimately received the support of more Democrats than Republicans in the House, with 90 Republicans voting no. Only one Democrat voted against the measure.

The House passed a bill 335-91 on Saturday afternoon to fund the government for 45 days, hours before government shutdown Had to come into effect.

The bill, which was voted on by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, ultimately received support from more Democrats than Republicans. Ninety Republicans voted no on the continuing resolution to fund the government, and only one Democrat voted against the short-term funding measure. The bill would fund the government at current levels for 45 days through 2023. It does not include funding for Ukraine, which was sought by Democrats but opposed by many Republicans, but it does include spending for disaster relief.

McCarthy was forced to rely on Democrats for passage because the speaker’s hard-right wing said it would oppose any short-term measures. The Speaker established a process for voting, which requires a two-thirds majority, or about 290 votes, in the 435-member House for passage. Republicans have a 221-212 majority with two vacancies.

Before the vote, McCarthy indicated that the cost of the shutdown was too high for Americans, especially those in uniform. “I’m saying to Republicans and Democrats alike, put aside your partisanship, focus on the American people,” he said. “How can you in good conscience – think about the men and women who willingly risk their lives to protect us – say they can’t be paid, while we ignore our differences – This is unfair. I can’t do this to our men and women in uniform.”

Ukraine funding not included in short-term spending bill

In his statement, Mr. Biden addressed the absence of Ukraine funding in the bill, saying that “We cannot allow U.S. support for Ukraine to be disrupted under any circumstances. I have every hope that the President will support the people of Ukraine.” We will maintain and safeguard our commitment to the “The necessary support was passed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”

Before the Senate vote, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat, vetoed a continuing resolution on the Ukraine funding issue, according to two congressional sources.

The White House had previously welcomed passage of the House bill, noting that it “keeps the government open at a higher funding level” than the version the Senate was previously considering, “and includes disaster relief and FAA authority is involved,” a White House official said.

Two Senate GOP aides told CBS News that last Sunday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told McConnell that the Biden administration has exhausted nearly all available security assistance funding for Ukraine and a 45-day Could not complete it depending on the duration. On existing drawdown authorities alone, the mechanism used to transfer military equipment to Ukraine. Based on that guidance and despite the knowledge that it would draw opposition in the House, McConnell agreed to support Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s continuation proposal, which would have included $6 billion in support for Ukraine for 45 days. .

A House lawmaker with knowledge of the Ukraine funding issue confirmed to CBS News that the Biden administration had given a similar message to House lawmakers and asked that something be done relatively quickly to move forward on a supplemental Ukraine aid bill before the 45 days are up. Will have to do. But Republican House leaders are confident there is bipartisan support for it.

Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said Ukrainians “shouldn’t take anything negative” from Saturday’s vote, adding, “We can do complementary work in a very short period of time from an engaged type of perspective on border security and Ukraine.” Are.” , whether it’s in the next two days, three days, 10 days.”

The Senate was working on advancing its own bill that was initially supported by Democrats and Republicans and that would fund the government through November 17.

But once the House plan was revealed, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his members not to vote on moving the Senate version forward to see if the House could pass its own temporary funding measure. .

Funding bill could keep the government open but put McCarthy’s speakership at risk

McCarthy announced Saturday morning that he would try to push a 45-day funding bill through the House with Democratic help — a move that could keep the government open but would put his speech at risk.

“The House is going to act, so the government won’t be shut down,” McCarthy said after a Saturday morning meeting with the Republican conference. He told reporters that this would give MPs more time to complete work on the individual appropriation bill.

Relying on Democratic votes and leaving his right wing behind is something that hard-right lawmakers have warned will jeopardize McCarthy’s job as speaker. It is almost certain that they will soon file a motion to remove McCarthy from that office, although it is not at all certain that there will be enough votes to bring down the Speaker.

McCarthy said of threats to oust her, “If someone wants to step away because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try that.” “But I think this country is very important.”

The quick pivot to Saturday’s bill came after the collapse of McCarthy’s earlier plan on Friday to pass a Republican-only bill, which included severe border security provisions and massive cuts of up to 30% in spending at most government agencies, which the White House And the Democrats rejected it as too extreme. 21 It failed due to opposition from a group of hard-rightists.

To cater to his hard-right stance, McCarthy returned to the spending limits sought by conservatives in January as part of a deal to help him become House speaker.

Some Republican holdouts, including Gaetz, are allies of former President Donald Trump, Biden’s main rival in the 2024 race. Trump has been encouraging Republicans to fight hard for his priorities and even “turn it off.”

What would a shutdown mean?

Without short-term financing before midnight, federal employee Faced with furloughs, more than 2 million active-duty and reserve military troops will go without pay and the programs and services that Americans rely on from coast to coast will begin to face shutdown disruption.

The shutdown will create severe uncertainty for federal employees and those who depend on them – from soldiers to border control agents to office workers, scientists and others – in states across the US.

Families who rely on Head Start, food benefits and countless other programs large and small for children face potential disruptions or closures entirely. At airports, Transportation Security Administration officers and air traffic controllers will be expected to work without pay, but travelers may face delays in updating their U.S. passports or other travel documents.

—Margaret Brennan, Jack Terman, Keshia Butts, Alice Kim, Willie James Inman and Alan Hay contributed to this report.