WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took a procedural step on Thursday to enable the Democratic-majority chamber to pass a stopgap government funding bill before the Nov. 17 deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown.
THE TAKE
Disagreements within the divided House of Representatives Republican majority have hindered the chamber from voting on a stopgap funding measure known as a continuing resolution, or CR.
If House Republicans are unable to start that process in time, Senate Democrats could pass their own bill, which would require House approval, to prevent the fourth partial government shutdown in a decade.
CONTEXT
* Congress has not finished the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government through Sept. 30.
* It passed a temporary funding bill on Sept. 30 to give it more time, but shortly after, a small group of House hardliners ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the deal, initiating a three-week leadership fight that ended in the election of Republican Mike Johnson on Oct. 25.
* The two parties disagree on a 2024 spending figure. Democratic President Joe Biden and McCarthy agreed to a $1.59 trillion discretionary spending budget in May, but hardline Republicans have pushed for an additional $120 billion in cuts.
* The United States recorded a nearly $1.7 trillion deficit in its most recent fiscal year, its largest since a budget gap fueled by the COVID pandemic.
WHAT’S NEXT
* Democrats and Republicans in both chambers will continue negotiations to find a way forward before the deadline, in the hopes of avoiding a shutdown.
(Reporting by Makini Brice and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
