Congress averts a shutdown, setting up a lame duck fight in December

Congress on Wednesday sent a three-month spending bill to President Joe Biden for his signature, averting a shutdown until after the election. 

The passage of the continuing resolution, which will keep agencies afloat through Dec. 20, sets up a new fight over government funding during the lame duck session of Congress just before Christmas. The House and Senate—which separately approved the continuing resolution on Wednesday—remain far divided on the path forward for full-year appropriations, but avoided forcing agencies to shutter on Oct. 1.

State and local governments breathed easier as the measure spares states and cities from having to worry about the prospect that federal workers residing in their jurisdictions would be furloughed without pay, which mayors say could damage local economies. 

A short-term government shutdown would likely not significantly impact state and local government operations and services, but "prolonged uncertainty and limited access to federal agencies will create compounding problems impacting local governments, small businesses and residents who rely on federal aid or other support," wrote Michael Wallace, NLC's legislative director for community and economic development, earlier this week as the possibility of a shutdown loomed. 

"This bipartisan measure ensures sustained funding for essential programs that support local governments and the communities they serve," said Clarence Anthony, CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities, in a statement. "NLC looks forward to ongoing collaboration with our federal partners as Congress works to secure a long-term solution to address the needs of cities, towns and villages throughout the nation."

Congressional leaders announced a bipartisan breakthrough over the weekend after House Republicans for weeks suggested they would not back a short-term funding measure unless congressional Democrats and the White House agreed to certain partisan demands. The measure won broad bipartisan support in both chambers despite opposition from dozens of Republicans, passing the House in a 341-82 vote, and avoided any efforts to slow the bill down in the Senate.  

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to a stopgap over the objections of former President Donald Trump, who instructed Republicans to reject any funding deal if it did not include legislative provisions to address his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voting from noncitizens.

The House voted last week on a six-month continuing resolution that included the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, but more than a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in defeating it. Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that there was “no daylight” between him and Trump.

“I’m not defying President Trump,” Johnson said. “We’re getting our job done.” He added it would be “political malpractice” to allow a shutdown so close to a presidential election.

The stopgap will largely continue agency funding at their fiscal 2024 levels, though it includes $231 million for the U.S. Secret Service for its protective mission. The agency has faced additional scrutiny and pressure to ramp up its efforts after two failed assassination attempts on Trump in recent months.

The measure also prevents agencies from furloughing or terminating employees due to budget shortfalls, includes additional funds for the Office of Personnel Management to set up a new health benefits program for the U.S. Postal Service and adds spending for transition activities at the White House, General Services Administration and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Perhaps most significantly for state and local agencies—especially at a time when federal data indicates that food insecurity is on the rise—the stopgap ensures funding will continue for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at the “rate for operations necessary to maintain participation.”

Excluded was relief for parts of the country that have been hit hard by natural disasters in recent months. 

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz noted on the floor ahead of the vote that there was no assistance included to help victims of wildfires in Maui.

“They’re waiting for help, and the federal government has not come to their aid yet,” Schatz said. “They’ve lost loved ones. They’ve lost homes. They’ve lost businesses. They’ve lost livelihoods, and all they want is help and a little bit of hope to get their lives back to something close to normal.” 

By voting on Wednesday and avoiding delays, lawmakers can now head back to their districts and states through the election. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, praised his colleagues for acting with days to spare, an unusual feat in recent shutdown politics. 

“Americans can breathe easy that because both sides have chosen bipartisanship, Congress is getting the job done,” Schumer said. “We will keep the government open. We will prevent vital government services from needlessly coming to a halt. We'll give appropriators more time to fully fund the government before the end of the year.”

When Congress returns after the election, focus will turn to approving full-year appropriations bills. The House has passed five of the 12 required annual spending bills, though it has done so in party-line votes and at spending levels below what Republicans and the White House previously agreed to as part of a two-year budget deal. The Senate has passed 11 of its 12 bills using higher funding totals in overwhelmingly bipartisan votes at the committee level, though none have been approved on the floor.

Johnson expressed confidence he would avoid putting all of the spending bills together in one omnibus package. In March, when Congress finally passed fiscal 2024 appropriations, the measures were split into two “minibuses.” 

“There will be no Christmas omnibus,” Johnson said, adding he does not want “any buses” that lump spending bills together. “We’ll deal with that in the lame duck.” 

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, committed only to pushing full-year spending bills through before the new pre-Christmas deadline. 

“There are so many urgent national priorities that still must be addressed in our full-year funding bills,” Murray said. “I will be working closely with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure we get the job done before the end of the year.”

One of those priorities is undoubtedly the farm bill, which is set to expire Sept. 30. Lawmakers are said to be at odds over food assistance. In May, Republicans on the House Committee on Agriculture passed a version of the farm bill that would effectively cut nearly $30 billion in benefits over the next decade.

According to a letter circulated to GOP House members and obtained by Bloomberg Law News, lawmakers on the agriculture committee "are due to negotiate the farm bill before week’s end." A vote would be held during the lame duck session later his year.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Daigneau.