House advances GOP-backed spending bills, but threat of government shutdown remains
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Source: CBS News
September 26, 2023 / 8:27 PM
Washington — House Republicans voted to advance four conservative spending bills on Tuesday in a long-sought display of unity that nonetheless doesn't move Congress any closer to preventing a government shutdown. The relatively routine vote to bring the bills to the House floor for debate gave Speaker Kevin McCarthy a win after days of Republican infighting between moderates and a contingent of hardline House conservatives over how to fund the government.
But the move will likely do little to change the dynamics underlying the fight over government spending, with just days to go before government funding expires. Even if the House were to pass all four bills to fund the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State and Agriculture for another year, they contain spending cuts that make them dead on arrival in the Senate, where Democrats are working on their own solution to avoid a shutdown.
A contingent of hard-right Republicans in the House are opposed to a short-term funding extension and want deeper spending cuts. They twice defeated McCarthy's efforts to advance the defense spending bill last week, and have vowed to oppose what's known as a "continuing resolution," which would extend government funding at current levels as broader talks unfold. Lawmakers face a hard deadline of Saturday night to approve funding and keep the government open.
Without an extension, hundreds of thousands of federal employees would go without pay until new funding is approved for their agencies, and dozens of government services could be affected. Essential workers — like active-duty military members, many federal law enforcement officers and air traffic controllers — would stay on the job, but wouldn't be paid until after the shutdown. Employees in nonessential positions would be furloughed without a paycheck until the government is funded again. Government contractors aren't guaranteed backpay.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-kevin-mccarthy-senate-continuing-resolution/
DOA in Senate.
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