In the early hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed a stopgap funding measure that will avert a government shutdown, preventing the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. The passage of this bill brings a tumultuous week in Congress to a close and ensures that essential government services continue without disruption through mid-March.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly, 85-11, in favor of the continuing resolution (CR), which will extend federal funding at current levels until March 14. The bill also includes over $100 billion in disaster assistance for regions devastated by recent hurricanes and other natural disasters, as well as additional economic aid for struggling farmers.
Earlier Friday, the House of Representatives approved the same bill in a lopsided vote of 366-34-1, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk for his signature just ahead of a midnight deadline.
“Tonight, the Senate delivers more good news for America. There will be no government shutdown right before Christmas,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a speech before the final vote. “This is a good bill. It’ll keep the government open, help Americans affected by hurricanes and natural disasters, support our farmers, and avoid harmful cuts.”
Schumer went on to praise the bipartisan approach that ultimately brought the bill to fruition, saying it was a “good lesson for next year” and emphasized the need for cooperation across party lines.
The relief came after several days of uncertainty, as lawmakers feared a shutdown was imminent. In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was caught in a struggle to find a proposal that would satisfy both conservative Republicans, Democrats, and the vocal demands of former President Donald Trump.
An early attempt at a bipartisan 1,547-page deal fell apart when Trump publicly opposed it, demanding that any funding plan include a suspension of the debt ceiling. House Republicans spent the rest of the week scrambling to find an alternative that would pass with enough support.
Complicating the matter, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) openly rebelled against Johnson’s leadership, signaling further turmoil for the House Republican leadership. By contrast, the Senate largely remained on the sidelines during this phase of negotiations, with Republicans and conservatives in the House leading the charge on crafting a final compromise.
As the days dragged on, lawmakers in both chambers were bracing for a potentially devastating shutdown, which could have severely impacted federal workers and government services. However, a deal was eventually struck, with the Senate passing the measure late Friday night. While the relief was palpable, some Republicans expressed concerns about what future negotiations may hold, particularly as Republicans are set to take control of a slimmer majority in the House next year.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top GOP appropriator, said that the process would benefit from clearer demands from the White House and other key figures earlier in the negotiations. She speculated that, with Trump’s upcoming re-election bid and potential return to office, the next round of talks could be even more chaotic.
The bill does not include provisions related to the debt ceiling, though an agreement was made in the House to increase the borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion in net cuts to mandatory spending. This debt ceiling increase will be addressed during next year’s budget reconciliation process.
One of the central provisions of the stopgap bill is disaster relief, which includes nearly $100 billion in funding for areas that have suffered from natural disasters like hurricanes Helene and Milton. Senators from North and South Carolina had insisted that any bill to avert a shutdown must include this crucial aid.
The measure includes $29 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) disaster relief fund, which had been nearly depleted. In addition, the Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans program will receive a boost of about $2 billion to help businesses and homeowners recover from the financial devastation caused by these disasters.
Further bolstering the support for American agriculture, the bill extends the 2018 farm bill for one year after Congress failed to pass a new five-year version. It also includes $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, responding to pressures from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who sought more funding for the agriculture industry.
The final bill represents a significant reduction from the original bipartisan deal proposed earlier in the week. Some provisions, such as the transfer of federal land surrounding Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to the District of Columbia and a freeze on cost-of-living adjustments for lawmakers, were ultimately removed to secure support from enough Republicans.
Other significant measures, such as pharmaceutical benefit manager (PBM) reforms and the proposed expansion of year-round E15 ethanol sales, also did not make the final cut. Some Republicans, including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), expressed disappointment over the loss of these provisions but acknowledged that the core funding measures, including disaster aid and agricultural assistance, remained intact.
Despite the setbacks and changes, Bacon pushed back against misleading claims about the bill circulated by figures like Elon Musk, who had spread misinformation about a provision related to a $3 billion NFL stadium in Washington, D.C. “We should be candid, though, that a lot of stuff he said wasn’t true,” Bacon said.
As the clock ticks down to the December 23rd deadline, lawmakers are breathing a sigh of relief that a shutdown has been avoided. But the chaotic nature of this year’s negotiations has left many wondering what the next few months could bring as the political landscape shifts with the upcoming presidential election and changes in the balance of power in Congress.
