WASHINGTON — Senate leaders released a short-term funding bill Tuesday that would keep the government open until November 17 with time ticking to Saturday’s midnight deadline.
The bill was agreed to in terms by the Democratic majority and Republican minority and includes $6 billion in aid to Ukraine and $6 billion in emergency FEMA funding for disaster relief.
If the resolution passes the Senate, it remains unclear if the Republican-led House will approve it as several extreme Republicans have held firm that they will not approve any more funding for Ukraine. They also oppose a short-term bill and agree on sharp spending cuts.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not say if the House would agree on a Senate-passed bill to avoid a shutdown.
“I’m not going to take up hypotheticals of someday dreaming the Senate is going to do something,” he said. “When they do something come back and ask me about something.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) promised a vote on the Senate floor on Tuesday and called for the bill to pass and minority leader Mitch McConnell also agreed to pass the resolution.
“Make no mistake, a shutdown would be a terrible outcome for the country despite what some on the hard right would have us ludicrously believe it’s hard for me to believe that some — the extreme right in the other chamber say they actually want a shutdown. What insanity,” Schumer said.
“Over the years I’ve been pretty clear in my view that government shutdowns are bad news whichever way you look at them,” McConnell said. “They don’t work as political bargaining chips, they create unnecessary hardships for millions of Americans.”
