Pols change plans in case of shutdown

Lawmakers are clearing their schedules for this coming weekend, bracing for the possibility of a government shutdown.


Members say they would likely face a public backlash if they headed back to their districts as the government shutters on Saturday. So until a deal is reached, many are planning to be working in the nation’s capital.

“We’ll be here Friday night, Saturday, Sunday … and they’ll work something out by Monday,” Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota said.

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“I don’t see how you could go home if the government shuts down,” Peterson told The Hill, adding that it would be hard to explain to his constituents why he was in Minnesota instead of on Capitol Hill.


Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) said “if the government shuts down, we need to be here, not back in our districts because it’s too important.”


Few are optimistic that a bipartisan deal will be struck soon. And an ominous sign came Friday when the House Appropriations subcommittee chairmen, also known as “cardinals,” were given the green light to travel back to their districts instead of the original plan to stay in town to finalize a deal, several sources said.


“Their game plan is to come up with something that they could have on the floor Wednesday or Thursday, but nobody’s very optimistic about that,” a GOP source said, noting he was clearing his schedule for the weekend.


Even if negotiators do reach a deal before Friday, the rules of the lower chamber state that a bill must be introduced three days prior to consideration on the House floor. The rule is meant to provide adequate time for lawmakers and the public to read legislation before a vote occurs.


In a Friday morning informal breakfast meeting with Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a handful of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers said they do not waive the three-day rule – even if a deal is reached at the eleventh-hour.


“The basic consensus was: expect to be here Saturday and Sunday. Bottom line. That’s our bottom line. Start canceling stuff for next Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” Terry said.


House GOP Leadership Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon explained that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) “understands that we care about” abiding by “the rules we set.” “Our intention is to abide by the three-day rule,” Walden told The Hill, but would not speak for the “pay grades higher” up in leadership. A spokesman for Boehner was unsure as to how the Speaker would handle such a scenario.


House Republicans rode a wave of voter dissatisfaction to victory in 2010, in part out of frustration with previous Congresses that would not allow enough time to read bills before they were passed.


Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said his colleagues would press Republicans to follow the rules the majority put into place. “I think we would want to stick with the rules,” Van Hollen said, hinting that his party wouldn’t agree to a unanimous consent agreement to waive House rules.


But another Democrat speculated that his caucus wouldn’t require Republicans to abide by the 72-hour rule if a shutdown loomed.


Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott said, “I don’t think the Democrats would insist on a layover that could require the government to get shut down in the meanwhile.”


Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said: “I would hope that we follow the rules and procedures that we laid out, but I also know that time can be of the essence when we get right down to the end so I trust our leadership on that to make the right call. They are trying very hard to live within the rules, so we’ll see.”