It sure looks like we’re hurtling toward a government shutdown at the end of this month.
The Senate on Friday failed to pass a pair of competing stopgap spending bills, one from Republicans and one from Democrats, that would avert a shutdown after current federal funding expires at the end of the month. The votes cement a shutdown standoff, leaving it unclear whether lawmakers will be able to find a way to keep federal agencies open past September 30.
Far short of 60 votes: The Democratic bill, which combined a funding patch to October 31 with an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, a reversal of Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and other policy provisions, was rejected in a 47-45 vote that fell well shy of the 60 votes needed.
Then, in a 44-48 vote, senators failed to pass a “clean” Republican stopgap that would extend funding largely at current levels through November 21. The bill would add some $88 million to fund security for members of Congress, the executive branch and the Supreme Court. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted for the bill, while two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against it as well.
House Republicans had passed that bill in the morning, 217-212, largely along party lines. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted against the bill, while Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine supported it.
Both sides now appear dug in and their messaging battle is ramping up as each blames the other for the standoff and a potential shutdown.
What Republicans say: GOP leaders say Democrats are gumming up what should be a simple vote to keep the government open — a vote on precisely the kind of “clean” short-term continuing resolution that Democratic leaders have called for in the past — by injecting partisan demands into the process. Republicans insist that, while some Democratic demands are non-starters, there’s room to address the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, but that can be done once the government is funded, which would also buy time for appropriators to continue working on full-year spending bills.
“The Republican bill is a clean, nonpartisan, short-term continuing resolution to fund the government to give us time to do the full appropriations process. And the Democrat bill is the exact opposite,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said before Friday’s votes. “It’s what you might call, not a clean CR, a dirty CR – laden down with partisan policies and appeals to Democrats’ leftist base.”
What Democrats say: Democrats’ message to voters if a shutdown occurs might be encapsulated by this line from Democratic Rep. Richard Neal today: “Republicans would rather shut down the government than bring down healthcare costs.”
Democrats argue that they’re fighting to keep millions of Americans covered by health insurance, to keep coverage costs from soaring for millions more and to keep the Trump administration from encroaching on Congress’s power of the purse. And they say Republican claims that healthcare issues can still be addressed later this year aren’t good enough. “For Republicans, later means never,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday.
Democratic leaders are also betting that the American public values bipartisanship. Schumer and other Democrats argue that Republicans need their votes to pass a funding bill so they should negotiate a bipartisan deal. They’re counting on the idea that Americans will blame the party in control of Congress and the White House for any shutdown. And they note that President Trump has said that Republicans should not “even bother” dealing with Democrats. “You want Democratic votes on a funding bill? A good place to start is actually trying to win those votes,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington.
What’s next: Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be out next week for the Jewish new year. Senators are due back on September 29, and Republicans are reportedly planning a repeat vote on the House-passed measure shortly before the deadline in hopes that some Democrats will fold under pressure. “Looks to me like it’s this or a shutdown,” Thune said.
House Republican leaders are looking to add more pressure on Senate Democrats. They told members on Friday that no votes would happen until October 1, after the shutdown deadline — a decision that leaves the Senate no path to enacting an alternative to the House-passed plan.