U.S. House Passes Stopgap Funding Bill as Senate Shutdown Risks Intensify

Legislative Standoff and the Looming Midnight Deadline

The House moved to avert a federal shutdown by passing a short-term funding extension in a 230-to-197 vote. While the bill would provide funding through Feb. 16, it has encountered stiff resistance in the Senate. The legislative package includes provisions for the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years and delays or suspends a handful of taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act.

Despite the House action, the probability of a shutdown has intensified as Senate Democrats rally against the proposal. Senate Republicans, currently needing to secure 60 votes to advance the measure, find themselves in a difficult position, particularly with Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, absent and some members of their own caucus expected to vote against the bill.

Democratic Demands and the Immigration Debate

Senate Democrats have made it clear they will not support the current spending extension unless it addresses their priorities, specifically protections for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, domestic spending increases, and aid for Puerto Rico. Democrats are also seeking a more robust government response to the opioid epidemic.

Republicans control the House, they control the Senate and they control the presidency, said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont. The government stays open if they want it to stay open, and it shuts down if they want it to shut down. It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road and time to start negotiating in good faith.

In response, Republican leadership has accused Democrats of allowing a fixation on illegal immigration to derail essential government business. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, warned of the political costs associated with a potential shutdown, emphasizing that the bill contained funding for the military and children’s health care.

If Senate Democrats obstruct this legislation — and as a result shut down the government — they have made the decision to cut off pay to our troops and block children’s health care funding they support, Representative Kevin McCarthy

Political Pressures on the White House and Senate

President Trump has sought to shift the blame onto Senate Democrats, using social media to highlight the potential for a government closure. In an early-morning post on Friday, the president wrote: “Shutdown coming? Government Funding Bill past last night in the House of Representatives. Now Democrats are needed if it is to pass in the Senate — but they want illegal immigration and weak borders. Shutdown coming? We need more Republican victories in 2018!”

The situation creates a high-stakes gamble for both parties. Ten Senate Democrats are currently up for re-election in states won by Mr. Trump in 2016, including Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, and West Virginia. These lawmakers face potential political fallout if they are perceived as the primary drivers of a shutdown, especially over the issue of protecting young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers.

By Thursday evening, nine Senate Democrats who had voted for a spending measure in December announced they would not support the latest proposed four-week extension, joining 30 other Democrats and at least two Senate Republicans in opposition. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky lamented the Democrats’ fixation on illegal immigration at the expense of addressing other matters, stating Thursday night: My Democratic colleagues’ demands on illegal immigration, at the behest of their far-left base, have crowded out all other important business.

Sources: outsidethebeltway.com, reason.com.