US House Republicans unveil three-month stopgap Bill to avert shutdown
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The Chamber will aim to vote on the measure on Sept 25, according to a source with knowledge of the plan.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - Republican US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sept 22 proposed a three-month stopgap funding Bill that excludes an immigration-related measure demanded by former president Donald Trump, as lawmakers look to avert a month-end partial government shutdown.
Mr Johnson laid out the plan in a letter to colleagues released just eight days before the government’s current US$1.2 trillion (S$1.55 trillion) in discretionary funding runs out on Sept 30. The Chamber will aim to vote on the measure on Sept 25, according to a source with knowledge of the plan.
Failure to act by then would furlough thousands of federal workers and shut down a wide swath of government operations weeks before the Nov 5 election.
The proposal, which excludes a Trump demand to impose new requirements that people provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, is aligned with what Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had urged – a basic extension of government funding to December. It runs through Dec 20.
“As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice,” Mr Johnson said in the letter.
Democrats, including Mr Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, expressed optimism over a bipartisan deal that could be reached.
Mr Jeffries welcomed the proposal unveiled on Sept 22. He said in a statement that House Democrats would evaluate it after a previous proposal, which Republicans had “inappropriately attempted to jam” with partisan policy.
He added: “Congress is now on a bipartisan path to avoid a government shutdown that would hurt everyday Americans.”
The House, which Republicans control by a narrow 220-211 margin, on Sept 18 rejected Mr Johnson’s prior proposal for a six-month funding extension including the voter-registration measure, which Democrats and democracy advocates call unnecessary as it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
Congress faces an even more critical deadline on Jan 1, by which time lawmakers will have to raise the nation’s debt ceiling or risk defaulting on more than US$35 trillion in federal government debt.
The Bill proposes US$231 million in additional funding for the US Secret Service after a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump in July, another gunman was discovered earlier in September
The additional funds would be made available “for operations necessary to carry out protective operations including the 2024 presidential campaign”, the Bill said. REUTERS
