Another looming government shutdown

[raison de arizona]

https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/stat ... 43571?s=20

House votes 216-212 to advance bills funding the Depts. of Defense, State, Agriculture and Homeland Security.

McCarthy passes his first spending bill rule since before the August recess.

mtg was the only R to vote nay.

[raison de arizona]

Boyle brought receipts.

Johnson: We do not want a shutdown

Boyle: I have the quotes right here… Ever since I was in high school 30 years ago, we’ve had five shutdowns. All five took place under House Republican Leadership. When Democrats are in charge, zero shutdowns during that period

[raison de arizona]

Even a broken clock... "Shutting down the government isn't an effective way to make a point."

Sen. Min. Leader McConnell sends pointed message to House Speaker McCarthy:

“A vote against a standard short-term funding measure is a vote against paying over $1 billion in salary for Border Patrol and ICE agents working to track down lethal fentanyl and tame our open borders.”

[pipistrelle]

Yeah, nice “open borders” thrown in.

[raison de arizona]

Still an R, got to get in the digs. Anyway...A reminder from Lieu.

Rep. @tedlieu (D-CA) says we are on the precipice of a shutdown because “Speaker Kevin McCarthy went back on his word” and “reneged on a deal he made with Pres. Biden.”

“How do we, the American people, trust Kevin McCarthy if he simply goes back on a deal that was put into law?”

[AndyinPA]

I doubt anyone who knows Kevin learned a long time ago not to trust him.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... onal-parks

Revealed: Trump administration forced Joshua Tree to stay open during last US shutdown

By the time superintendent David Smith decided to close Joshua Tree national park on 7 January 2019, the list of problems was already long. Tire tracks wove through the wilderness mapping a path of destruction where rare plants had been crushed and trees toppled. Charred remains of illegal campfires dotted the desert, and historic cultural artifacts had been plundered. Trash piles were growing, vault toilets were overflowing and park security workers were being pushed to their limits.

It was week three in what would become the longest shutdown of the US government, and the famed California park was feeling the consequences of operating without key staff, services and resources.

To protect the park and its workers, it would have to close, Smith thought.

But the Trump administration, which demanded national parks remain accessible throughout the shutdown, wasn’t willing to change course. In a controversial move, David Bernhardt, who had only recently been appointed acting secretary of the interior, called Smith and ordered him to keep the gates open.

By the end of the 35-day shutdown, irreversible damage had been inflicted on Joshua Tree’s ecosystems, its wild, remote landscapes thrust into the political turmoil unfolding thousands of miles away.

I was heartbroken by this. I hope it's avoided if there's another shutdown because this administration is at the helm.

[raison de arizona]

22nd District of New York, here's your boy!

GOP Rep. Brandon Williams says he’ll still take pay during a government shutdown because he’s “not independently wealthy.”

He then says that millions of furloughed federal workers who won’t get paid should not expect “a huge amount of sympathy”

[Volkonski]

Republicans reject own funding bill, US government shutdown imminent

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hardli ... 023-09-29/

Hardline Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday rejected a bill proposed by their leader to temporarily fund the government, making it all but certain that federal agencies will partially shut down beginning on Sunday.

In a 232-198 vote, the House defeated a measure that would extend government funding by 30 days and avert a shutdown. That bill would have slashed spending and restricted immigration, Republican priorities that had little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The defeat left Republicans - who control the chamber by 221-212 - without a clear strategy to avert a shutdown that would close national parks, disrupt pay for up to 4 million federal workers and hobble everything from financial oversight to scientific research if funding is not extended past 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Sunday.

After the vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the chamber might still pass a funding extension without the conservative policies that had alienated Democrats. But he declined to say what would happen next. The chamber is expected to hold more votes on Saturday.

[Slim Cognito]

McCarthy is obviously on his way out anyway. Might as well do it with as much dignity his pea brain can muster. Do what's right and move on like Ryan did. (the moving on part, not the right part. Apparently life after congress can be pretty sweet.)

[raison de arizona]

McConnell: If Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans shut down the government, they are voting to defund border patrol

[AndyinPA]

On the lighter side:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ek-contest

Fat Bear Week: US shutdown threatens to trample over Alaska’s annual contest

Beloved, closely watched popularity competition for judging the stockiest ursine before hibernation under threat from shutdown
Guardian staff and agencies
Sat 30 Sep 2023 07.00 EDT

A looming government shutdown threatens to claw its way into a crowd-pleasing Alaska tradition: Fat Bear Week.
This Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023 photo provided by Shelly Deano shows two bears getting into a donut truck in Anchorage, Alaska.

Alaska’s most-watched popularity contest, Fat Bear Week involves residents picking their favorite fat brown bear who’s been stocking up for winter by noshing on salmon in Katmai national park & preserve. Viewers of the bears vote online in tournament-style brackets for those they want to advance to the next round until a champion is crowned in the weeklong contest.

More than 1m votes were cast last year.

Problem is, national park employees count and release those votes – and a shutdown will not allow them to do so because it would trigger a ban on using the park’s official social media accounts for as long as the government is closed.

[Luke]

Luke Johnson @Orly_licious 19m
Friends, here's a FREE GIFT LINK from me with LIVE UPDATES on the #GovernmentShutdown from Washington Post. America is hours away as the do-nothing MAGA GOP House pitches last-ditch deal needing Democrats. McCarthy promised 72-hrs, gave minutes to review.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... TegypVKmBY

Luke Johnson @Orly_licious 25m
Thank you @cspan, this is important. Watch LIVE House coverage without a subscription. @RepJeffries
is on the floor NOW at 1:55pm EDT discussing a 45-day Government Funding & Disaster Aid vote. GOP reneged on their previous deal. #GovernmentShutdown
https://www.c-span.org/video/?530852-2/ ... art-2&live

Luke Johnson @Orly_licious
GOP's #GovernmentShutdown: Kevin McCarthy & MAGA House spent $1B to win & govern. #FAIL

Republicans passed 1 of 12 spending bills & vacation: They planned recess from 9/29-10/17.

From 6/24 to 9/11, House in session only 11 DAYS: 17-day recess 7/4. Then 46-day break until 9/12.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... n-mccarthy

The House passed a bill Saturday to extend government funding for 45 days, sending the legislation to the Senate with just hours left to avert a federal shutdown. Unless Joe Biden signs a funding bill before midnight, the government will shut down.

The bill passed the House in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 335 to 91, with 209 Democrats joining 126 Republicans in supporting the legislation. Ninety Republicans opposed the bill.

The bill – unveiled by the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, just hours before the final vote – would extend funding through 17 November and allocate $16bn for disaster aid. The House bill does not include additional funding for Ukraine, which has become a source of outrage among hard-right lawmakers.

McCarthy introduced the bill under suspension of the rules, meaning he needed the support of two-thirds of House members to advance the proposal. Although Democrats criticized the bill’s lack of Ukraine funding, they ultimately provided McCarthy with the support needed to get the legislation across the finish line.

[Volkonski]

Will the Freedom Caucus punish McCarthy for working with the Democrats to get the resolution passed?

[bob]

Will the Freedom Caucus punish McCarthy for working with the Democrats to get the resolution passed?

That was the threat made.

[much ado]

Live coverage of Senate session is set to be covered beginning at 6 pm ET on C-SPAN, they say.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?530851-2/ ... ion-part-2

[Volkonski]

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/ ... index.html

GOP senators say they're confident a vote will still happen tonight despite holdup



GOP Senate minority whip predicts vote will happen soon
The Senate is coming back into session, and Senate Minority Whip John Thune said they are close to a statement that addresses Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet's concerns about Ukraine.



Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is on the Senate floor, and the Senate is taking procedural steps to move forward with final passage to fund the government.



Schumer and McConnell pledge further assistance for Ukraine ahead of vote to avert a government shutdown



The Senate is voting on a last-minute measure to prevent a government shutdown

[Volkonski]

Current vote-
No- 9
Yes- 88

[Volkonski]

Bill on the way to the White House.

[much ado]

Current vote-
No- 9
Yes- 88

Also the final vote.

[Volkonski]

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/ ... index.html

President Biden is on standby at the White House right now to sign the short-term government funding bill as soon as it reaches his desk, a White House official said.

Biden opted to stay in Washington this weekend – a rare occurrence – as a government shutdown had seemed almost inevitable even this morning. Officials said he spent much of the day in the Oval Office as he was briefed by senior advisers; he left the White House briefly earlier this evening to attend mass.

[Volkonski]

Steve Herman
@w7voa@journa.host
Scores of poison pill amendments “were all removed from the bill,” adds Schumer. “MAGA Republicans won nothing.”

Steve Herman
@w7voa@journa.host
“Both parties have come together to avoid a shutdown,” concludes Schumer on the Senate floor.

[Volkonski]

Statement from President Joe Biden on Passage of the Bipartisan Bill to Keep the Government Open

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo ... ment-open/,

Tonight, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate voted to keep the government open, preventing an unnecessary crisis that would have inflicted needless pain on millions of hardworking Americans. This bill ensures that active-duty troops will continue to get paid, travelers will be spared airport delays, millions of women and children will continue to have access to vital nutrition assistance, and so much more. This is good news for the American people.

But I want to be clear: we should never have been in this position in the first place. Just a few months ago, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement to avoid precisely this type of manufactured crisis. For weeks, extreme House Republicans tried to walk away from that deal by demanding drastic cuts that would have been devastating for millions of Americans. They failed.

While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.

[busterbunker]

Politics is bad theater and this was bad theater at its worse. But at least I got my freedoms back so I can go to our National Parks and climb mountains next week. Thanks a bunch, you dimwits!