On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (C.R.) to keep the U.S. government funded and avoid a crippling government shutdown. President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan C.R., giving both houses of Congress another 45 days to finish their 12 funding bills for the 2024 fiscal year, which began on October 1.
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville blamed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) for not bringing the bills to the floor for regular order.
“I am glad that the government is not going to shut down. But this is no way to run a government. This entire spectacle up here never should have happened,” Sen. Tuberville said. “This Clown Show in Washington needs to learn how to govern. That means passing 12 appropriations bills, which a bipartisan group of Senators on the Appropriations Committee did a long time ago. But Chuck Schumer and the Democrats who run Washington don’t want to do that. We cannot lurch from crisis to crisis anymore. We need to finally get to regular order and govern like adults.”
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama) blamed President Biden for a lack of leadership.
“After completely unnecessary political fire drills, ultimately both chambers were able to come together not only to keep the federal government open but reject President Biden’s misguided supplemental request,” said Sen. Britt. “Now, we will be able to pay our troops, the Border Patrol, and Capitol Police and help our neighbors in Florida and the people of Hawaii recover. We will continue the critical fight for border security while we work to pass responsible appropriations bills through regular order. In the coming weeks, I’ll work with my colleagues to advance spending measures that are judicious, strategic, transparent, and accountable.”
Both Houses of Congress were working on a bipartisan C.R. to keep the government funded. The House of Representatives passed theirs Saturday afternoon in a 335 to 91 vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) then announced that the Republicans in the Senate would be withdrawing their support for the Senate bill and instead be backing the House bill.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) voted for the bipartisan 45-day C.R.
“While I remain frustrated that my Republican colleagues have brought us to the brink of a costly and devastating government shutdown, I am grateful that Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy has finally chosen to work with Democrats at the last minute to extend government funding,” said Rep. Sewell. “While this measure is not perfect, it avoids deep cuts that House Republicans attempted to push through earlier this week and provides critical disaster relief funding that communities in Alabama depend on.”
The House version of the C.R. was then voted on and passed by the Senate on Saturday night.
The government is funded, but no deal has been reached on federal spending or addressing the crisis on the U.S. southern border.
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