Policy- Congress passed a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday.
- It will continue funding until November 17, at which point another bill is needed to avert a shutdown.
Get ready to face another government shutdown standoff next month.
With just hours to spare on Saturday, Congress managed to pass a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded through November 17. That leaves lawmakers with another 46 days to come to a longer-term agreement on government funding — and the fight has already begun.
The bill contained $16 billion in disaster relief, along with funds to keep the Federal Aviation Administration operational. However, it did not include more aid for Ukraine, which Republicans did not want to include — and prompted Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet to put a hold on the Saturday vote to attempt to get more money for Ukraine included in the short-term legislation.
"I objected tonight to proceeding to the Continuing Resolution because it failed to provide additional money for Ukraine,'" Bennet said in a statement. "Senate Leadership needed to reaffirm our bipartisan commitment to sustain funding for Ukraine. The Senate Leadership has released such a statement, and, as a result, I voted to keep the government open."
Biden also urged Republicans to include aid for Ukraine in the next funding package.
"I did not believe we could let millions of Americans go through the pain of a government shutdown," Biden said in Sunday remarks.
"But let's be clear: I hope my friends on the other side keep their word about support for Ukraine," he continued. "They said they were going to support Ukraine in a separate vote. We cannot under any circumstance allow America's support for Ukraine to be interrupted."
The bill also continues to fund federal wages, SNAP, and programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have a range of policies they want to see included in the upcoming funding package, and they're on the clock once again. Here's what comes next in the government shutdown battle.
Next steps to keep the government funded
The current short-term continuing resolution Biden signed into law will remain in effect until November 17. That means lawmakers need to craft additional legislation to prevent a shutdown after that date, and discussions have already begun.
By a vote of 335 to 91 — with 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans voting in favor — the short-term bill passed Congress. Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley, the only Democrat who voted against the resolution, said he did so because it did not include Ukraine funding. "This bill is a victory for Putin and Putin sympathizers everywhere," he said.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have demanded steep funding cuts for Ukraine, along with strengthened border security. Given the disagreements over Ukraine funding, some senators might try to accomplish it in a standalone bill — Politico reported that Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen thinks there could be bipartisan support for that effort.
As those efforts play out over the next month, Congress still will need to pass 12 appropriations bills to fund federal agencies. On top of that, House conservatives are threatening Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's leadership — after McCarthy worked with Democrats to fund the government, GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz said that "this agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we set up is a last straw."
"I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week," Gaetz said on CNN. "I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that will be trustworthy."