Members of Congress are so tired of government shutdowns that some want to pass a bill to get rid of them forever

• Congress has yet to reach an agreement on avoiding a government shutdown by September 30.
• A group of lawmakers are pushing to permanently end government shutdowns.

Congress is tiptoeing towards a potential government shutdown, as Republicans can't seem to formulate a plan to fund the government. Now, some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to do away with the concept of a shutdown completely.

Politico reported that legislators in the House and Senate are passing around a letter calling for a vote on legislation to get rid of shutdowns. The letter specifically pushes for a vote on the "Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2023," introduced by Republican Senator James Lankford and Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan, and co-sponsored by an array of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

Under that law, a two-week extension of funding would automatically kick in should Congress not pass appropriations bills in time. And Congress would not be able to move on any matters other than getting funding passed once that stopgap kicks in — although they could start considering SCOTUS nominees after 30 days of shutdown. Congress would also not be allowed to recess or adjourn for over 23 hours during that shutdown period.

Lankford told Politico that he's aware of the push to bring his legislation to the floor for a vote. "There's Democrats talking to Democrats, Republicans talking to Republicans about the bill. There's lots of conversations that are going out there. This letter is just one more of them," he said.

This effort comes as lawmakers have headed home for the weekend without a solution to fund the government before September 30. After that deadline, Americans will face a federal government shutdown — and both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling for a solution as the clock continues to tick.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, for example, even said that he might have to move forward with a Senate funding bill, given Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has been unable to corral enough members of his party to vote for any funding legislation.

"Leader McConnell and I are talking and we have a great deal of agreement on many parts of this. It's never easy to get a big bill, a CR bill done, but I am very, very optimistic that McConnell and I can find a way and get a large number of votes both Democratic and Republican in the Senate," Schumer told CNN.

But even some Republicans are saying they'd rather reach across the aisle than let the government shut down. That comes after Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was twice unable to rally enough votes from his party to pass a defense spending bill, another sign of discord on the right that illustrates just how shaky McCarthy's slim majority is.

While a range of ideas are swirling among lawmakers to avoid a shutdown, the Office of Management and Budget on Friday reportedly asked all federal agencies to submit their plans to operate their programs on limited appropriations. Every agency has a contingency plan in the event of a shutdown, but some of them are currently outdated.

"Without a federal budget in place before the end of the month, the vast majority of the 2.2 million federal employees who keep our government running will find themselves either locked out of their jobs or forced to go to work without a paycheck," Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 750,000 government workers, said in a statement. "Federal employees and every single American who depends on the government for vital programs and services deserve better from our elected leaders."