The House and Senate are pushing forward with their own, separate government funding plans on Wednesday.
The Senate on Tuesday unveiled and advanced a bipartisan measure that extends government funding through Nov. 17 and provides money for Ukraine and disaster relief.
House Republicans, meanwhile, advanced four GOP-crafted full-year spending bills on Tuesday, a vote that gave Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) an incremental victory but will not help stave off a shutdown.
Government funding expires Sept. 30 and any bill to fund the government needs to be approved by both chambers and signed by President Biden.
Follow along with live updates below.
In other news: GOP presidential candidates set for second debate
The second GOP presidential debate is set to kick off in 20 minutes.
You can follow along with live updates from The Hill here.
Amendment to stem transfer of cluster munitions fails
The House on Wednesday did not adopt an amendment to a Pentagon funding bill that would have prohibited money in the bill from being used to transfer cluster munitions.
The vote was 160-269, with both parties split on the measure.
Seventy-five Democrats were in favor while 137 voted “no,” and 85 Republicans voted to adopt the amendment while 132 opposed it.
President Biden earlier this year authorized the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine for Kyiv to use in its war with Russia. Cluster munitions are considered a uniquely dangerous weapon, making them highly controversial.
Gaetz amendment to prohibit Ukraine security assistance fails
A majority of House Republicans joined Democrats in voting down an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), that would have prohibited security assistance to Ukraine.
The vote on the proposed amendment to a Pentagon funding bill was 93-339, with 126 Republicans voting against it and 93 in favor.
House votes down amendment to strip Ukraine funding from Pentagon bill
The House on Wednesday voted down an amendment to strip $300 million in Ukraine aid from the Pentagon funding bill.
The vote was 104-330, with 104 Republicans voting in favor of the amendment, which was sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and 117 opposing it.
Fitzpatrick lone GOP vote against anti-‘woke’ amendment
The House on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the agriculture funding bill that would prevent the USDA from “using funds for woke courses, books and study guides.”
The amendment was adopted 217-214 with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) voted with Democrats against it.
The chamber is in the middle of voting on amendments for the agriculture and Pentagon funding bills.
Here’s how a government shutdown would affect the military
Troop paychecks and national security are under threat as Congress stands on the edge of a government shutdown, with no clear solution for getting a defense budget passed.
Administration officials are now sounding the alarm, with Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh warning Tuesday that “over 1 million military members” as well as furloughed civilian employees would go without pay during a shutdown.
And that delay will have “huge, profound impacts across the globe,” when it comes to security, she told CNN.
“If the U.S. government shuts down, China, Russia, North Korea, Iran — these are countries that are not shutting down, that are continuing their operations,” Singh said.
— Ellen Mitchell
House GOP agriculture spending bill on thin ice
The House GOP’s bill to fund Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration is on thin ice after a handful of moderate Republicans said they are opposed to the legislation because of a provision that would limit access to an abortion pill.
Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) told reporters Wednesday morning that they do not support the agriculture spending bill in its current form, pointing to language pertaining to mifepristone, an abortion pill.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) told The Hill that he is a “no” on the agriculture appropriations bill in part because of the abortion pill provision.
Asked about the spending bill, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) — who in July said “some states allow it to be mailed, some states don’t, but that should be a decision with the states and the FDA — told reporters Wednesday “my position hasn’t changed.” Lawler, D’Esposito and Molinaro represent districts President Biden won in 2020.
A provision in the legislation would nullify a Biden administration rule allowing mifepristone to be sold in retail pharmacies and by mail with prescriptions from a certified health care provider.
— Mychael Schnell
What is affected by a government shutdown?
A government shutdown could have wide-ranging effects. Mail will get delivered, and Americans will still receive Social Security checks, but The Hill breaks down here what could happen to:
- Federal employees
- National parks
- Travel and transportation
- Food assistance
McCarthy tells Republicans he won’t hold vote on Senate CR
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told members of the House GOP conference Wednesday morning that he will not bring the Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution to the floor for a vote.
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told reporters after a closed-door House GOP conference meeting that McCarthy informed lawmakers during the gathering that he will not bring the upper chamber’s legislation to the floor for a vote, even after the Senate voted to advance it in a bipartisan fashion Tuesday night.
“I don’t think he plans to do that,” Good said when asked about bringing the Senate stopgap bill up for a vote. “He reiterated that this morning. I called on him to consistently say that to the public, let the Senate know that’s dead on arrival and that there’s no way the House would pass that bill.”
Pressed on if McCarthy told the conference that he will not bring up the Senate legislation, Good responded, “that’s exactly right.”
A second House Republican confirmed to The Hill that McCarthy said he would not bring the measure to the floor for a vote.
— Mychael Schnell
McConnell: A shutdown ‘isn’t an effective way to make a point’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged conservative lawmakers to avoid a government shutdown, arguing that shutting down the government “isn’t an effective way to make a point” and pointing to the lack of pay for service members, Border Patrol and Veterans Affairs medical providers that would go into effect.
“The choice facing Congress is pretty straightforward. We can take the standard approach and fund the government for six weeks at the current rate of operations,” McConnell said, referring to the Senate’s stopgap bill that funds the government until mid-November. “Or we can shut the government down in exchange for zero meaningful progress on policy.”
“Those important discussions cannot progress If Congress simply fails to complete our work on standard, short-term funding, and the basic functions of government end up being taken hostage,” McConnell added.
— Al Weaver
Schumer: McCarthy has ‘twisted himself into pretzels yet again’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) panned Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for attaching border-related provisions to a stopgap spending proposal in order to appease hard-right Republicans, saying the Speaker has “twisted himself into pretzels yet again.”
“In the House, Republicans have tried everything but bipartisanship,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday, adding that the Speaker is “trying to avoid his responsibility of governing.”
“But this is the truth. Every bill House Republicans has pushed have been partisan. Every CR has been aimed at the hard right,” Schumer said, pushing McCarthy to follow the Senate’s path after the chamber voted Tuesday to move along a bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government through mid-November. “By constantly adhering to what the hard right wants, you’re aiming for a shutdown. They want it. You know it. You can stop it.”
— Al Weaver
GOP appropriator: ‘irresponsible’ to not vote on Senate CR if House can’t pass one
Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), an appropriator, said Wednesday it would be “irresponsible” not to put the Senate’s continuing resolution (CR) to a House vote if the lower chamber can’t pass its own measure.
“It would be irresponsible on our part to reject what the Senate send us and not have our own,” he told reporters.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said he’d like to try voting Friday on a GOP-crafted CR, but it’s unclear whether he has the votes to pass it.
The Senate’s proposed CR would extend government funding through Nov. 17 and includes money for Ukraine and disaster aid.
Moderate House Republican says McCarthy should put Senate CR on the floor
Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), a moderate Republican, said Wednesday that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should bring the Senate’s proposed continuing resolution (CR) to the House floor if it clears the upper chamber.
He said he would like it to include border provisions but would support it nonetheless.
“I don’t want a shutdown. I would support it,” he said.
The Senate’s proposed CR would extend government funding through Nov. 17 and includes money for Ukraine and disaster aid.
— Mychael Schnell
ICYMI: The House and Senate took votes last night
In the House, Republicans advanced four full-year GOP-crafted spending bills, 216-212, handing Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) a small win but doing little to stave off a government shutdown at the end of the month.
In the Senate, lawmakers unveiled and advanced, 77-19, a bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government past Sept. 30.
McCarthy goes all-in on border with second GOP stopgap funding attempt
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is going all-in on border issues as he takes a second shot this week at passing a GOP-only short-term funding bill that would pair an extension of government funding with a swath of border policy changes.
McCarthy is racing against a competing continuing resolution (CR) unveiled in the Senate on Tuesday and a Saturday government shutdown deadline.
In trying to coalesce is fractious conference around a stopgap funding proposal of his own, the Speaker is aiming to reframe the funding battle as a choice for President Biden — and his hard-line opponents as siding with the president on border issues.
“The president could keep government open by doing something on the border,” McCarthy said on Tuesday.
— Emily Brooks
Senate grabs wheel from House in bid to avoid shutdown
Senate leaders are grabbing the steering wheel from embattled Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in hopes of avoiding a wreck in the form of a government shutdown at the end of the week.
Senators in both parties have lost confidence in McCarthy’s ability to move a stopgap funding measure through the House and hope to avoid a disaster by moving first.
On Tuesday, they took the first step forward by advancing their stopgap bill to keep federal funding at current levels until Nov. 17. The legislation would also provide $6.15 billion in new money for Ukraine and $6 billion in new money for disaster relief.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described it as a “bridge” funding bill to keep the government open another month, buying more time for negotiators to hash out a longer-term funding deal.
Senators are betting that if they jam the House right before the deadline, McCarthy will relent and bring it to the House floor, where it would likely pass in a bipartisan vote.
— Alexander Bolton