Senate passes stopgap funding bill to avert shutdown, bill next heads to the House
Government funding will expire at midnight Thursday, but Democratic congressional leaders, who control both chambers of Congress, have projected confidence there will not be a shutdown. With the deadline rapidly approaching, lawmakers have no room for error.
“Some good news — today the Senate will pass a continuing resolution that will eliminate the possibility of a government shutdown tonight,” Schumer said in floor remarks Thursday morning.
In addition to funding the government until December 3, the stopgap bill will “provide funding to help process and resettle Afghan refugees and finally deliver on critical disaster aid for Americans battered by storms and wildfires this summer,” the majority leader said.
October 18: The government reaches its borrowing limit, which could trigger a first-ever US default and a self-inflicted economic crisis if the US is unable to pay all its bills on time. It could delay federal payments, including Social Security checks and monthly child tax credit payments.
Congressional Democrats initially attempted to address the government funding issue alongside the debt limit, a strategy that was thwarted by Republicans in the Senate who have insisted that Democrats must act alone on the debt limit.
If lawmakers manage to stave off a shutdown by passing a “clean” stopgap bill, it will punt the debt limit issue further down the road with another key deadline fast approaching.
Democrats do have the option to raise the debt limit on their own using a process known as budget reconciliation, but they have argued that route is too risky and would risk a default, leaving it unclear how the issue will be resolved.
This story and headline have been updated to reflect additional developments Thursday.
