September 9, 2024
Somebody’s back to work.
Not me – I’ve been working every day.
I’m talking about them. Congress. After about 6 weeks on recess the House and Senate are back in session today.
And guess what? We’re on the brink of another crisis. We are exactly three weeks away from a government shutdown.
I hope they enjoyed their time away—because things are about to get rough.
The government will shut down on September 30th unless Congress does it’s one and only job. Fund the government. There are two options — one – the options they’re supposed to pick – which is pass a full budget bill that outlines exactly how much money each government agency receives and how those agencies should spend that money. They aren’t choosing option one. Or option two – pass a different kind of bill called a continuing resolution which kicks the can down the road — temporarily keeps the government open at current spending levels and then save this fight about government spending for another day. This is what they’re choosing.
House Speaker Johnson has proposed not only a continuing resolution. But one of the longest CRs – 6 months! And on top of that – Johnson is attaching another bill to this CR. So it’s a multi-issue piece of legislation instead of the single issue bills the speaker has been demanding. If Johnson’s plan is passed the government would function on temporary funding levels until March 28th of 2025.
This proposed CR keeps federal funding at 2024 levels but it has changed several things – including stripping out $55 million meant for grants to help state election officials make election security improvements and help states effectively administer the 2024 presidential election. (page 12). That funding was allocated under the help America Vote Act of 2002 but under this CR – that grant money is gone.
The CR also has added the republican backed save act which is requires Americans to present documentation that they are an American citizen before any state can allow them to register to vote or ask for a mail ballot.
Senate Democrats are obviously against all of this. They don’t like the CR Speaker Johnson is proposing because the funding levels don’t match the deals previously made with Republicans and they don’t like the save act because federal law already says it is a federal crime to vote in an American election if you are not an American citizen. Some Republicans also don’t like the idea of tacking on another bill to the CR because it would almost ensure a government shutdown which — this close to an election is not a good look for them.
Read the proposed CR here.
