Congress Votes To Avoid A Government Shutdown—For Now

There is no government shutdown—for now. On Sept. 30, 2023, with a few hours to go before midnight, the House passed a bipartisan bill to fund the government for 45 days. The bill then moved to the Senate, where it was approved. President Biden signed the bill into law on the same day. Here’s a look at what made it in—and what got left out—of the bill, as well as the votes and what comes next.

What’s Included

The bill is a stopgap—the government has funding through Nov. 17. Here’s what’s included:

• Continued appropriations for government agencies at current 2023 levels;
• Keeps the Federal Aviation Administration operational;
• Extends the National Flood Insurance Program authority through the duration of the CR;
• Renews economic assistance to Micronesia and the Marshall Islands;
• Extends certain Food and Drug Administration user fee programs;
• Restores lapsing community health centers funding and child and family services programs; and
• Provides $16 billion in natural disaster funding

What’s Not Included

Here’s what the bill didn’t include:

• No additional funding for Ukraine (the Senate version originally included $6 billion);
• Border security amendment; and
• 30% spending cuts for most government agencies

You can read the entire version, as passed, here.

Procedure

The bill needed two-thirds of the House to support because it was brought up through an expedited process. The final vote was 335-91, with broad support in the Republican-led House from Democrats. Here’s how that shook out by party affiliation:

The Senate approved H.R. 5860 with a vote of 88-9.

Reaction

There is work still to do. The parties are still not in agreement about spending measures, including for Ukraine.

Members of the Senate released a joint statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Chair Chris Coons (D-DE), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) declaring, “We welcome today’s agreement to avoid a harmful and unnecessary shutdown of the federal government. They added, “Nevertheless, this agreement leaves a number of urgent priorities outstanding. In the coming weeks, we expect the Senate will work to ensure the U.S. government continues to provide critical and sustained security and economic support for Ukraine.” You can read the complete statement here.

While the Republicans managed to escape blame for a shutdown that would close government services and delay pay for government workers, the related disagreements appear to have widened a fracture in the party. Hours after the vote, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called for a motion to vacate to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for working with Democrats to secure the votes he needed to push H.R. 5860 through.

When asked if he is worried about his job, McCarthy replied, “Not at all.”