Senate Passes Short-Term Funding Bill to Avoid a Government Shutdown

The Senate passed a short-term government funding measure to keep the government operating until March 11.

What? No midnight deadline? No dramatics? How’d we get so lucky?

Actually, because Congress has been so very, very busy doing other stuff — like trying to turn a riot into the crime of the millennium — they just haven’t had time to pass all the appropriations bills that would fund the government through next September.

It’s hard to get a lot done when you only work about three days out of eight.

Fox News:

The Senate’s vote marks the second time this fiscal year that lawmakers voted to avert a partial government shutdown and keep government agencies fully operational. In December, the Senate voted to extend funding to mid-February.

Last week, the House voted 272-162 to pass the measure also known as a continuing resolution.

Through an appropriations bill, lawmakers are tasked with funding the government through the end of the fiscal year, which concludes on Sept. 30. While there is speculation that a deal is close to being reached, no formal announcement has been made.

The deal would increase military spending and some non-defense programs.

Politico:

Cross-partytalks on a sweeping bill to boost funding for the Pentagon and non-defense programs have shown promise over the last week, according to deal-makers on both sides of the aisle. If those discussions continue to go well, it’s possible Congress could pass a package with new government funding levels by the mid-March deadline, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said Thursday.

“We’re coming along. We’re coming along. I think there’s a good chance we’ll make it,” said Shelby, the Senate’s top Republican appropriator. “If we keep working in a bipartisan way, which we’ve been doing the last week or two, maybe we’ll get there.”

There were a couple of amendments of note that the Republicans were able to offer in exchange for a fast-track approach to the funding bill.  One amendment, offered by Senator Mike Lee, would have barred the Biden administration from mandating vaccinations for federal workers. It was defeated 47-46. An amendment by Senator Ted Cruz to cut off federal aid to schools and child care centers that require kids to be vaccinated against Covid lost 49-44.

There was no huge controversy on which one side or the other was willing to make a last stand and delay a vote until the very last moment. But March 11 will be coming up fast and who knows what life-or-death issue will arise by then?