"House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) rebuffed a bipartisan short-term funding bill from the Senate in favor of a House Republican plan driven by conservatives, as dim prospects for a deal raised the likelihood of a partial government shutdown starting this weekend.
Many lawmakers now anticipate that Congress will fail to fund the government past this Saturday, a lapse that will partially close federal agencies and temporarily withhold pay for federal workers and active duty-military personnel.
The House and Senate are moving ahead with their own stopgap proposals to keep the government open while work continues on full-year funding legislation. Each plan is considered a nonstarter in the other chamber, however, with sharp differences on spending levels, Ukraine and border security.
The House is the main source of tension. McCarthy is effectively negotiating both with his own conference and with the Senate, but with no clear way to thread the needle. Some House conservatives have said they wouldn't mind a brief shutdown if it led to a better resolution of the spending fight, while senators of both parties have implored McCarthy to help keep the government open.
McCarthy on Wednesday dug in on his strategy of holding a vote on a stopgap measure cutting spending to a lower $1.471 trillion annual rate.
The proposal would enact strict border-security measures but omit money for Ukraine or disaster relief.
The time period for funding is still under discussion. McCarthy said a vote on his bill could come Friday, but it was uncertain whether it would draw enough support from GOP holdouts to pass.
By contrast, the Senate's short-term measure, which has bipartisan support and easily passed an initial procedural hurdle Tuesday, would continue spending at fiscal 2023's more than $1.6 trillion annual pace through Nov. 17, while also providing $6 billion each for Ukraine and for disaster relief but leaving out any border measures.
McCarthy indicated to House Republicans that he didn't plan to put the Senate measure on the floor for a vote. Such a bill -- known as a continuing resolution, or CR -- likely would pass with Democratic votes, but it would split the GOP conference, enrage many members and could spark an effort to remove McCarthy as speaker.
"I don't see the support in the House," McCarthy told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said McCarthy was standing in the way of a bipartisan deal. "The bottom line is, if they put our bill on the floor, it would pass," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), while declining to directly counsel McCarthy, said the choice is simple. Congress could embrace the Senate approach and fund the government for six weeks, he said, or "shut the government down in exchange for zero meaningful progress on policy."
Aides expected that amendment votes would be needed to clear the continuing resolution through the Senate, and the bill could still see changes. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, is part of a group that includes Sens. Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) working to devise an amendment providing funds to address border security, according to a person familiar with the matter." [1]
1. U.S. News: Impasse Brings Government To the Brink of Shutdown. Hughes, Siobhan; Katy Stech Ferek; Peterson, Kristina. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 28 Sep 2023: A.4.
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