The Government Shutdown – 2023

Here is everything you need to know about the Government Shutdown that took place during the Biden-Harris Administration. This is not the first time the U.S. government has faced a shutdown. In this blog post, I provided as much as I could find about the government shutdown in September of 2023.

In 2018-2019, (then) President Donald Trump caused a shutdown because he wanted money for a border wall. This resulted in several weeks of having the U.S. government experience a partial shutdown.

You can read more about the Trump shutdown here:

• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week One
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Two
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Three
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Four
• A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Five
• Will There Be Another Partial Government Shutdown?

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September 19, 2023:

September 19: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities posted a Statement titled: “House Republican Budget Reflects Disturbing Vision for the Country” From the Statement:

Statement of Sharon Parrott, CBPP President, on House Budget Committee Chair Arrington’s budget resolution released today:

It’s tempting to ignore a budget resolution released just days before the start of the fiscal year that it’s meant to guide, and amid the chaotic debate around a short-term extension of government funding to avoid a shutdown. But House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington’s proposed budget is important for the country: health care stripped away from millions of people, higher poverty and hunger, capitulation to climate change, and more tax cheating by high-income people, and large-scale disinvestment from the building blocks of opportunity and economic growth – from medical research to educational child care. It would narrow opportunity, worsen racial inequities, and make it harder for people to afford the basics. It reflects the wrong priorities for the country and should be soundly rejected.

Chair Arrington made clear in his remarks the intent to extend the expiring tax cuts from the 2017 tax law, which included large tax cuts for the wealthy. In addition, the budget resolution itself would pave the way for unlimited, unpaid-for tax cuts that could go well beyond those extensions. The extensions alone would give annual tax breaks averaging $41,000 to tax filers in the top 1 percent and cost more than $350 billion a year, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. The budget reflects none of these costs and fails to explain how – or whether – they will be offset.

A shocking share of the spending cuts Chair Arrington specifies target people with low and moderate incomes, including $1.9 trillion in Medicaid cuts and hundreds of billions in cuts to economic security programs, such as cuts to assistance that helps people afford food and other basic needs. Just last week the Census Bureau released data showing that poverty spiked last year, more than doubling for children. Rather than proposing policies that could reverse this deeply troubling trend, the budget proposal would deepen poverty and increase hardship.

The budget would also make deep cuts in the part of the budget that is funded annually through appropriation bills. Disingenuously, the budget resolution shows that these cuts total more than $4 trillion over ten years – but hides the program areas that would be cut, labeling them “government-wide savings.” But this year’s House Appropriations bills – which include substantial cuts – make clear that the cuts would fall on a wide range of basic functions and services that support families, communities, and the broader economy, including services that support families, communities, and the broader economy, including Social Security customer service, support for K-12 and college education, funding for national parks and clean air and water, rental housing assistance for families with low incomes, and more.

Chair Arrington claims the budget’s deep and damaging program cuts are in the name of deficit reduction. But the failure to identify a single revenue increase for high-income people or corporations – and in fact, to potentially shower them with more unpaid-for tax cuts – is an extreme and misguided approach. Moreover, calling for a balanced budget in ten years is merely a slogan that has little to do with addressing our nation’s needs – and the budget resolution resorts to gimmicks and games to even appear to get there, including $3 trillion in deficit reduction it claims would accrue from higher economic growth it assumes would be achieved by budget policies.

A budget plan should focus on the nation’s needs and lay out an agenda that broadens opportunity, invests in people and families, reduces the too-high levels of hardship and financial stress faced by households across the country, and raises revenues for those investments. But the Arrington budget blueprint would shortchange much-needed investments and lock in wasteful tax cuts to the already wealthy for the next decade.

House Republicans are pursuing a damaging agenda at every turn – first threatening the nation with default, and now demanding deep cuts in an array of priorities in this year’s appropriations debate, risking a government shutdown, and proposing a budget blueprint that would take the country in the wrong direction.

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September 25, 2023:

September 25: Roll Call posted an article titled: “Military pay, typically exempted during shutdowns, is at risk” From the article:

Why is this shutdown, if one occurs, not like the others in recent history? U.S. military servicemembers, who have to report for duty anyway because of the critical nature of their jobs, wouldn’t get paid.

During the prolonged partial government shutdowns in late 1995-early 1996, 2013 and the late 2018-early 2019 – the longest in modern history at 21, 16 and 34 days, respectively, – active-duty military and reservists received their salaries during the funding lapses.

That’s because the full-year Defense appropriations bill had already become law or, in the case of the October 2013 shutdown, Congress preemptively passed legislation guaranteeing military pay. With no enacted Defense bill even close, the only chance for military servicemembers to still get their paychecks if there’s a shutdown is for lawmakers to go the 2013 route…

…Big numbers

There are currently almost 2.1 million active-duty military servicemembers and reservists who would e forced to report for duty without pay.

Of the roughly 804,000 civilian Pentagon employees, about 199,000 would be required to work without pay given their “excepted” roles considered “necessary to protect life and property,” while 439,000 would be required to work without pay given their “excepted” roles considered “necessary to protect life and property,” while 439,000 would stay home without pay, according to the department’s contingency plan. The remainder are compensated outside of annual appropriations and wouldn’t be affected…

…The Coast Guard’s roughly 50,000 employees, including nearly 42,000 active-duty military, fell completely through the cracks during the 2018-19 shutdown because the Homeland Security spending bill didn’t become law in advance as the Defense bill did. So they didn’t get paid until the shutdown ended…

…When the shutdown ends, all federal workers who went without their paychecks would receive retroactive compensation, thanks to a law signed shortly after the 2018-19 shutdown…

…But employees working on contract providing services for the federal government aren’t covered by that law. After the last shutdown, estimates were upward of 1 million contractors, many of them lower-paid employees, never got paid for over one month of lost work.

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September 26, 2023:

September 26: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Extreme Republican Shutdown Would Force Troops To Work Without Getting Paid and Undermine Our National Security” From the Statement:

With less than one week before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including undermining our national security and forcing service members across the country and around the world to work without pay.

During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, service members would continue working every day to keep our country safe, including our 1.3 million active-duty troops – but wouldn’t receive their paychecks until funding becomes available. Department of Defense would also be furloughed, affecting the ways in which the Department manages its affairs globally, including the vital task of recruiting new members of the military. All of this would prove disruptive to our national security.

The reason these national security priorities are now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-third of them voted for just a few months ago and have instead proposed devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on.

(The statement includes a long state-by-state breakdown of the 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers at risk of not getting paid during an Extreme Republican Shutdown).

September 26: The White House posted a Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Senate Bipartisan Bill to Prevent an Extreme Republican Shutdown” From the Statement:

The Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution will keep the government open, make a down payment on disaster relief, and is an important show of support for Ukraine. House Republicans should join the Senate in doing their job, stop playing political games with peoples’ lives, and abide by the bipartisan deal two-thirds of them voted for in May.

September 26: The U.S. Department of Defense posted news titled: “Key Official Says Shutdown Would Damage National Defense” From the news:

The Chinese army is not facing a shutdown nor is Russia shutting down its efforts to conquer Ukraine, and the U.S. Congress must take steps to avoid a government shutdown, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said.

Congress must fund the government or pass a continuing resolution by the end of the fiscal year on Saturday to avoid a government shutdown Oct. 1.

“We need to avert any kind of effect that a shutdown could have, not just on the Defense Department but throughout the federal government,” Hicks said last week.

DOD leaders would like to see a full-funding bill passed, but Hicks said a continuing resolution would be preferable if a government shutdown could be avoided. A continuing resolution continues appropriations at the same level as the previous fiscal year for a certain amount of time.

“As bad as it could be to have a CR [continuing resolution] – which we always want to avoid – it would be even worse for the defense of the nation to have a shutdown,” Hicks said.

The government must close is there is a lapse in appropriations, but there are exceptions to that rule. During a government shutdown, DOD still must continue to defend and protect the United States and conduct on-going military operations.

DOD would continue activities funded by the Defense Working Capital Fund, a revolving fund that funds businesses-like DOD activities. These activities are in the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Defense Finance and Accounting Agency.

There are also excepted activities mostly centered around duties necessary for the safety of human life and the protection of government property.

“A shutdown would degrade and impact our operational planning and coordination, impact our more than 800,000 civilians, and severely diminish our ability to recruit and retain quality individuals for military service,” DOD officials said.

On a strategic level, a shutdown would play into the hands of U.S. competitors. A shutdown requires money, and it also requires money when the government starts up again – not to mention the lost time. “No amount of funding can make up for lost time,” the official said. “A shutdown impacts our ability to outcompete the PRC [People’s Republic of China] – it costs us time as well as money, and money can’t buy back time, especially for lost training events.”

On a practical level, a shutdown would have significant repercussions for military members and their families. Military personnel on active duty – including reserve component service members on active duty – will continue to report for duty and carry out assigned duties without pay. Most military permanent change of station moves will be halted.

Post and base services would be closed or limited. Elective surgeries and procedures in DOD medical and dental facilities are not excepted activities and these would have to be postponed.

The Defense Commissary Agency would close commissaries in the United States but would keep overseas facilities open.

DOD civilians, including military technicians, who are not necessary to carry out or support excepted activities would be furloughed. “Permanent change of station for civilian personnel will continue only to the extent expenses are chargeable to a funded PCS order issued prior to the funds lapse,” officials said.

Once a continuing resolution or appropriations act is signed, employed will be paid retroactively for unpaid hours worked and time charged as furlough as soon as feasible, officials said.

Active and reserve component service members will receive September’s end-of-month paychecks on Sept. 29. Military members cannot be paid during the lapse unless legislation is passed appropriating funds. “October[‘s] mid-month, military pay will be delayed if a continuing resolution or appropriation is not passed by Oct. 11,” officials said. “Leave and earnings statements will not be released.”

Military retirees and annuitants are not paid from appropriations, so their payments will continue as scheduled, officials said.

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September 27, 2023:

September 27: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Extreme Republican Shutdown Would Risk Delays for Travelers and Force Air Traffic Controllers and TSA Officers to Work Without Getting Paid” From the Statement:

With less than one week before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing games with peoples’ live and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including risking significant delays for travelers and forcing air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Officers to work without pay.

During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Officers – in addition to thousands of other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel – would have to show up to do their critical jobs without getting paid until funding becomes available. In previous shutdowns, this led to significant delays and longer wait times for travelers at airports across the country. Additionally, an Extreme Republican Shutdown would halt air traffic controller training – potentially leading to long-term disruptions to the industry at a moment when we’ve seen critical progress filling a backlog of controllers.

The reason these transportation priorities are now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-third of them voted for just a few months ago and instead proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that proposes devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – including rail safety inspections and the Transportation Security Administration. Their extreme CR also failed to provide the urgent funding President Biden requested to avoid disruptions to FAA air traffic operations…

September 27: ABC News posted an article titled: “Military families brace for a loss of paycheck, services under a government shutdown” From the article:

As the nation nears another government shutdown, military families face an uncertain financial future where they may not receive a paycheck unless a spending deal passes in time…

…A government shutdown appears increasingly likely with just a few days until the funding expires.Lawmakers have until the end of the day Sept. 30 to pass a spending deal to avert the shutdown.

As many as 4 million workers could lose pay as a result of the shutdown — about half of whom are military troops and personnel…

…For some military families, that may mean losing services they have come to rely on: everything from nutrition assistance to health care, mental health care, after-school activities for their kids, and even childcare centers…

…A recent “Pulse Check” survey that Blue Star Families conducted of its members found that most active-duty families — 54% — said they would be “greatly impacted” by a government shutdown. In open-ended responses from the more than 600 respondents, many cited the pay as the most common concern…

September 27: NPR posted an article titled: “What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military – and national security” From the article:

The federal government will shut down on October 1 if Congress doesn’t pass funding legislation for the next fiscal year before then – which is looking extremely likely.

That raises plenty of questions. Among them: What happens to the military?

Service members will continue to report for duty, though they will not get paid during a shutdown. And many of the hundreds of thousands of civilians who work for the Department of Defense will likely be furloughed, said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

“And they do vital, critical work on a daily basis to keep the department going,” Kirby told Morning Edition.

Separately, the Department of Defense says post and base services would be closed or limited, while elective surgeries and procedures would be closed or limited, while its medical and dental facilities would have to be postponed. Commissaries would remain open overseas but close in the U.S.

And certain Pentagon activities, like operational planning and military recruitment, will be paused…

…Kirby agrees that a prolonged shutdown could harm national security, especially when it comes to delayed management of DOD contracts for things like maintenance, logistics and procurement.

He says the White House is working to make sure employees understand what a shutdown could mean for them and to make plans in case they are affected. It’s also urging Congress to do its job. Though, Kirby notes, the issue is really between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the small group of hardline House Republicans demanding steps budget cuts…

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September 28, 2023:

September 28: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Extreme Republican Shutdown Would Delay Nearly 2,000 Long-term Disaster Recovery Projects and Undermine Community Preparedness” From the Statement:

With just days left before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country – including delaying long-term disaster recovery and undermining preparedness in communities across the country. Their bipartisan approach stands in start contrast to the Senate’s bipartisan progress towards keeping the government open and making a down payment on disaster relief funding.

As the Administration has continued to call on Congress to provide disaster relief funding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) continues to dwindle and is now forced to prioritize only immediate lifesaving and life sustaining operations. An Extreme Republican Shutdown would leave the DRF underfunded – delaying nearly 2,000 long-term recovery projects in communities across the country. For example, Wilson County School in Tennessee would continue being unable to push forward with rebuilding due to a deadly tornado that left 100 teachers and 1,000 students without classrooms. In New Jersey, millions of dollars meant to help rebuild a senior citizen building following Hurricane Ida would remain frozen. And in Florida, hundreds of millions of dollars of Hurricane Ian recover obligations would continue to be delayed.

An Extreme Republican Shutdown would also undermine communities’ preparedness by preventing fire departments from accessing funding necessary to retain firefighters and purchase equipment, halting first responder training, and jeopardizing access to grants for disaster and terrorism preparedness.

The reason these disaster recovery and preparedness priorities are now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-thirds of them voted for just a few months ago and instead proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that proposes devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – including to FEMA. Their extreme CR also fails to provide the urgent funding President Biden requested for FEMA’s DRF…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “It’s not just a shutdown – Congress has no plan for the FAA either” From the article:

It’s not just a broader government shutdown. By Sunday, the aviation system could also have almost all of its funding cut off if Congress can’t stop squabbling.

And House Republicans don’t seem to have a plan to avoid that, either.

It’s a crucial moment for the Federal Aviation Administration, which is faced with a possible lapse in its statutory authorization for the first time since 2011, as well as a possible gap in funding if the entire government shuts down this weekend. The funding cliff comes as the powerful agency has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since April 2022 at a time when near-misses have spiked and air travel surged.

If Congress can’t act to head off a shutdown and FAA lapse by Sunday, most air traffic controllers will continue working without pay, but some 2,600 controllers in training – including 1,000 that are already working in FAA centers nationwide – will be forced to go home, putting significant strain on an already stressed system. Grant money for important safety improvements will stop and some regulations in process, such as ones intended to shore up passenger protections, will grind to a halt. And the country’s aviation system will lose an estimated $54 million a day in fuel and fare tax revenues…

…There is bipartisan support in both chambers for sparing the FAA the brunt of a lapse. But how to get that result while also threading the needle of the fractious House Republican conference, portions of which are spoiling for a shutdown, has remained elusive. Meanwhile, the FAA is estimating that travel will reach its peak for the year heading into Indigenous People’s Day weekend, which will begin in a week.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office did not respond to a request for comment…

September 28: The Keystone posted an article titled: “Food Banks Brace for Government Shutdown” From the article:

Millions of Pennsylvanians could have trouble finding a hot meal if the federal government shuts down next week. A shutdown could compound food shortage problems that food banks are facing around the country.

With the possibility of a federal government shutdown looming, food banks in the Pittsburg area are bracing for the impact it will have on the community.

A government shutdown threatens the well-being for the millions of Americans who struggle to pay for groceries and sometimes have to rely on food banks. It will also impact government workers and contractors who will miss paychecks, which could jeopardize their ability to put food on their families table.

“Any level of government shutdown will have adverse effects across our 11-county service area, including potential impacts to SNAP payments and reduced food supply,” Lisa Scales, president and CEO of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank said.

“We have also learned from past experience that federal employees, active-duty military members and federal contractor employees will face a new reality of needing help to feed their families.”

A shutdown could hit food banks at one of the worst possible moments. Food banks around the country facing a food supply crisis and many are struggling to meet sustained and heightened needs. A Feeding America survey found that around 70% of responding food banks reported seeing demand for food assistance increase or stay the same in July 2023 compared to June.

Close to 2 million residents across the commonwealth are at risk of feeling pain even if the shutdown doesn’t last very long. A brief shutdown has the potential to disrupt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for families if there’s a lack of funding or a delay in processing benefits, or both…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “House GOP leaders plan to scrap vote on agriculture spending bill. From the article:

House GOP leaders are planning to abandon efforts to hold a stand-alone vote on their troubled agriculture spending bill and will pivot Friday to move on a House GOP stop-gap measure that could avoid a government shutdown, according to three House GOP lawmakers…

Senior Republicans are instead pushing hard to amend and pass three other spending bills to fund the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security.

GOP leaders are not pushing to fix abortion police and agriculture spending issues that complicated the passage of the legislation, according to the three Republican lawmakers…

…Many opposed are rural Republicans angry about steep spending cuts to key agriculture programs. About 10 of the opposed GOP members are livid about the inclusion of a controversial GOP ban on mail delivery of abortion pills, which they believed last week would be addressed in order to secure their support, according to another Republican lawmaker and a GOP aide.

Several House Republicans had expected Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to offer an amendment to strip the GOP’s controversial ban on mail delivery of abortion pills from the agriculture spending bill.

But, according to the three House Republican lawmakers, GOP leaders blocked that move…

…Despite the likelihood of the agriculture spending bill being abandoned, there haven’t been any changes to the floor schedule and GOP leaders are planning to vote on all four spending bills Thursday night, according to a senior GOP aide.

If they don’t flip several dozen votes, though, the bill will fail on the floor. That would allow GOP leaders to show they have exhausted all options to fund the government, giving more urgency to a passage of a stop-gap measure ahead of the Oct. 1 shutdown.

September 28: Congress of the United States sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. From the letter:

As the U.S. House of Representatives continues to consider appropriations in the run-up to the expiration of government funding on October 1, 2023, we urgently request that the following information be provided to Members of the House Republican Conference.

1. What is the plan to address the public and widely reported issues threatening final passage of the four appropriations bills being considered on the House floor?
2. What is the schedule for the other five bills reported by the House Appropriations Committee to come to the floor?
3. When will the House Appropriations Committee mark up and report the last two appropriations bills?
4. What is the plan to implement additional spending reductions in the remaining appropriations bills to reach the topline discretionally level of $1.526 trillion, which largely was agreed upon by the House Republican Conference last week?
5. Will the House of Representatives remain in session to continue working until all 12 individual regular appropriations bills have passed?
6. Will you publicly refute and reject the Schumer-McConnell Continuing Resolution, and what is being done to proactively oppose and defeat this “Omnibus Preparation Act?”

No Member of Congress can or should be expected to consider supporting a stop-gap funding measure without answers to these reasonable questions. We remain ready to continue working in good faith with our colleagues across the Republican Conference to advance appropriations; likewise, we expect you to take every step necessary to pass these bills – starting with the four bills now under consideration to fund approximately two-thirds of the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, we need leadership and a clear plan on spending to get to an end game here – most importantly, with wins for the American People.

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “The House Freedom Caucus wants answers from Kevin McCarthy on the path forward on government funding – and a rebuke of the Senate stopgap” From the article:

More than two dozen members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding Speaker Kevin McCarthy answer questions about the path forward on government funding while also publicly denouncing a bipartisan Senate stopgap proposal.

“No Member of Congress can or should be expected to consider supporting a stop-gap funding measure without answers to these reasonable questions,” the letter, signed by 27 members the conservative caucus, reads.

The letter is just the latest data point for how hard it will prove for McCarthy to round up sufficient GOP support for any short-term spending measure. He can lose but a handful off votes without the support of Democrats.

McCarthy has indicated he’ll consider a CR with additional border security funding and policy changes. However, a bloc off far-right Republicans are dug in against any sort of government funding patch.

September 28: The Augusta Chronicle posted an article titled: “Pay, services may be altered for Georgia military bases if federal government shuts down” From the article:

With the threat of a looming government shutdown, many federal employees could be furloughed, or may have to report for work without pay – including military service members.

Georgia has the fifth highest number of Department of Defense employees in the country, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, with at least eight military installations across the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Even if a government shutdown does occur, however, military bases will carry on with their essential duties.

In the event of a shutdown, the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield U.S. Army Garrison team will continue to deliver life, health, and safety services for those working and living on the installation,” wrote Kevin Larson, chief of public communications for Fort Stewart near Savannah. “We remain in communication with our team and will continue to provide specific information as events unfold.”

Other than that, Larson said they are still awaiting official guidance.

According to the Department of Defense, services on bases could be limited, including postponing elective and closing commissaries in the U.S. (although not overseas). At the end of the shutdown, people who worked unpaid hours will receive backpay…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “House GOP’s spending gambit flops” From the article:

House Republicans failed late Thursday night to pass one of their party’s slimmed-down spending measures, another fumble by GOP leaders just days before an impending government shutdown.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to move Friday to a narrower GOP stopgap funding patch that’s loaded up with spending cuts and border policies, though that measure currently lacks the votes from his own party that it needs to pass. House and Senate leaders are still not coordinating on a deal to stave off the funding lapse that’s set to take effect midnight Sunday.

In the end, Republicans faltered on one out of the four full-year measures bills, only the bill that funds the Department of Agriculture. A separate measure on Ukraine aid, which was stripped out of GOP’s Pentagon funding bill earlier this week, was also approved overwhelmingly, with all Democrats joining to back the bill.

Still, none of those measures – to fund the Pentagon, the State Department or the Homeland Security department – would help Congress deal with a funding deadline just two days away. McCarthy and his team will now pivot to rounding up the votes for a GOP-drafted short-term funding bill, which includes billions of spending cuts and new border security provisions. That measure is seen as a path to negotiating with the Senate and, perhaps, ultimately striking a deal…

…So far though, McCarthy and his allies remain short on the votes for any stopgap – even loaded up with GOP policies. McCarthy plans to hold a press conference Friday morning to discuss next steps…

…The Senate, meanwhile, has begun working on its own stopgap bill, which lawmakers on that side of the Capitol hope to pass on Saturday – hours before funding would expire – though the timing remains fluid. That bill could include a possible side deal on border policy, as dealmakers such as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and John Cornwyn (R-Texas) work toward a multi-billion dollar proposal to win support from the House GOP.

It’s unclear how Republicans will proceed if they are unable to lock down the votes for a short-term bill before Saturday.

But what is unlikely: Finding agreement to pass the GOP’s own agriculture bill, which has been stalled for weeks. Dozens of Republicans have privately said they would oppose the bill, thanks to abortion policy and steep cuts to farm programs…

September 28: Politico posted an article titled: “Senate advances shutdown-averting bill as GOP discusses changes” From the article:

The Senate voted Thursday to advance its bipartisan stopgap spending bill, though GOP senators are actively discussing changes to make the measure more palatable for House Republicans.

The upper chamber voted 76-22 to proceed on the stopgap. Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said another key procedural vote could be held Saturday, “if not sooner.” But without consent from all 100 senators, the timing would all but guarantee that a shutdown kicks in Sunday before the Senate can vote on final passage of the bill, which would extend government funding through Nov. 17.

Key context: The Senate’s addition of $6 billion in Ukraine aid has made an already unpopular stopgap essentially off the table in the House, where a handful of Republicans say they’re outright opposed to passing any continuing resolution to keep the government open.

Senators are now considering a possible amendment that would deliver as much as $6 billion in border funding to appease House Republicans, according to a GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss planning.

Asked if that amendment would include possible policy changes, requiring 60 votes for passage in the upper chamber, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said, “We’ll see. There are still a couple of issues that are up in the air about how we might actually get this attached to the bill.”

Some Republican senators have also pushed to strip out Ukraine aid, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s right flank vehemently opposed to providing more money to the allied country. That funding is a major priority for Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, however.

Across the Capitol: At this point, it is unclear if McCarthy would even put a Senate-passed bill on the floor…

September 28: ABC News posted an article titled: “Could a government shutdown affect Fat Bear Week? From the article:

If funding runs out, many government agencies are not permitted to update social media.

Call it potentially “unbearable” — at least for wildlife fans.

The looming government shutdown would affect Fat Bear Week, the annual celebration of wild bears who put on weight to prepare for hibernation.

From Oct 4. through Oct. 10, the bears of Alaska’s Katami National Park face off March Madness-style on the Fat Bear Week website, where people can vote to crown the best and chunkiest bear.

But timing-wise, there could be some complications.

The House and Senate have until the end of the day Saturday to pass a spending deal to avert a partial government shutdown, which would have rippling consequences for numerous workers, recipients of social services, and more.

During a shutdown, many agencies such as the National Park Service are also not permitted to update websites and social media pages. That means the viral park service social media promotions of Fat Bear Week would halt.

And those posts are paw-pular: The post last month on X (formerly Twitter) announcing Fat Bear Week’s return has been viewed more than 943,000 times, retweeted more than 2,000 times and has more than 11,000 comments.

The Fat Bear Week voting occurs on an outside platform — the livecam site Explore.org, so voting may not go dark if a shutdown happens…

September 28: ABC News posted an article titled: “As government shutdown approaches, agencies tell workers that furloughs are coming” From the article:

OMB gave agencies the official heads up of a looming shutdown, officials said.

Government agencies began warning their workers Thursday that they are preparing for a government shutdown — and that they might have to go without pay.

Lawmakers have until the end of the day Sept. 30 to reach a deal to fund the federal government. If Congress doesn’t act, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday — a situation that appears increasingly likely.

On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget gave the agencies the official heads up of a looming shutdown, according to two officials.

Then on Thursday, the top officials at each agency began sending out official notices to their workforce.

The Department of Homeland Security, a federal agency created in the aftermath of 9/11 terror attacks, told workers Thursday that it’s preparing for a shutdown, but didn’t say how long it expects the shutdown to last.

In a memo obtained by ABC News, a senior official told the workforce that “prudent management” requires that the DHS prepare for the possibility that a lapse in funding could occur…

…At the Department of Veterans Affairs, employees were told that much of their work would be paid for with money already passed by Congress, including relying on leftover funds.

Of the 440,437 employees, only 15,620 were at risk of being furloughed if those funds ran out.

Payments from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as health benefits for service members and veterans are not expected to be impacted by the shutdown because of their status as “mandatory” programs.

Many employees were told to wait for further instructions on whether they will be furloughed or required to come to work without pay…

…The union for the United States Capitol Police warned its members that it believes the shutdown could last two to four weeks. The union note tells personnel to await an email and mailed letter advising them of their work status.

The Capitol Police, which protect members of Congress, as well as other law enforcement agencies are considered “excepted” services and would still report to work during a shutdown. They would receive back pay once the spending deal is passed. Other federal employees are furloughed and sent home without pay.

All federal workers would receive back pay once the spending deal is passed, although union officials say it’s not a good solution. In the last shutdown in 2018, many essential employees called in sick because they struggled to pay for child care, gas and other expenses to work…

September 28: The Hill posted an article titled: “House overwhelmingly approves Ukraine Aid” From the article”:

The House late Thursday night overwhelmingly approved $300 million in new aid to Ukraine.

The 311-117 vote came after House GOP leaders on Wednesday stripped the Ukraine assistance from a Pentagon funding bill. All “no” votes came from Republicans.

Though it drew broad support, the funding has been a source of controversy for the past week.

The $300 million was initially included in legislation funding the Department of Defense for fiscal 2024, which drew opposition from hard-line Republicans.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters last week that he would remove the $300 million from the defense bill and hold a separate vote on the funding after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) joined a band of conservatives in sinking a procedural vote to advance the Pentagon measure…

…The House went ahead and adopted a combined rule – which governs debate on legislation – for the two measures and two other appropriations bills. Greene was the lone “no” vote.

An amendment sponsored by Andy Biggs (R -Ariz.) that would strip the $300 million from the legislation was voted down Wednesday in a 330-104 vote, with all support coming from Republicans.

House Republicans also soundly rejected an amendment from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to prohibit security assistance for Ukraine in a 339-93 vote.

But late Wednesday night, amid uncertainty over whether the legislation had enough support to pass, the House Rules Committee convened a last-minute hearing to strip the $300 billion from the Pentagon bill and hold a separate vote on the funding…

September 28: NBC News posted an article titled: “Government shutdown poised to halt federal flood insurance program” From the article:

A looming government shutdown could delay hundreds of real estate transactions each day and cause a shock to the industry because some home buyers will be unable to secure flood insurance, industry and flood experts said.

The authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program expires alongside the government’s funding at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. If lawmakers do not reauthorize the program, about 1,300 property closings each day could be delayed, according to estimates from the National Association of Home Builders.

“Closings are going to stop,” in flood-prone areas, said Jim Tobin, the organization’s chief executive officer. “It’s going to have some lasting effects, really putting a lot of real estate transactions on hold for some time.”

That could force builders to hold on to properties longer than expected and also leave buyers in the lurch and waiting on Congress…

…When a person wants to purchase property in an area with a significant flood risk – called a special flood hazard area – flood insurance must be secured to get a mortgage loan. The National Flood Insurance Program provides that insurance.

If the program expires, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its partners won’t be able to issue new policies until it is reauthorized by Congress…

…About 4.7 million flood insurance policies in the United States are from the National Flood Insurance Program, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Existing policies would remain in effect and FEMA would still be able to pay out claims until the program’s funding runs out. Last month, the program had about $3.8 billion in its funds, including reserves, according to the research service.

A prolonged shutdown and lapse to the program could strain FEMA’s ability to pay out claims after multiple disasters. Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30. (Several months after Hurricane Ian in 2022, the program paid out almost $4 billion for that flooding event, according to a FEMA news release.)…

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September 29, 2023:

September 29: Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) posted on X “The Republican House has already done what many in the media said was impossible – we voted to fund more than 70% of government spending. To date, the Senate has done zero.

Join me live in a few minutes with @RepMarkGreen, @RepMonicaDLC and @RepDesposito speaker.gov/live”

The White House account on X (@WhiteHouse) responded: “So close! The government needs to be funded 100% to stay open. Hope this helps.”

September 29: The White House posted “Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on House Republicans’ Extreme 30% Cuts” From the Statement:

Extreme House Republicans are now tripling down on their demands to eviscerate programs millions of hardworking families count on – proposing a devastating 30% cut to law enforcement, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and more. They are breaking their word, abandoning the bipartisan deal that two-thirds of them voted for just four months ago, and marching our country toward an Extreme Republican Shutdown that will damage our economy and national security. The path forward to fund the government has been laid out by the Senate with bipartisan support – House Republicans just need to take it.

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “The Hill’s Morning Report – Weekend forecast: A shutdown is very likely” From the article:

A government shutdown is looking inevitable as Congress heads into the weekend without a funding plan lined up.

Ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, GOP opponents of the Senate’s bipartisan stopgap bill -which the chamber voted 76-22 to advance – are seeing to drag out the process beyond Sunday. Critics of the measure want to delay vote to give the House a chance to pass its own temporary funding bill, spearheaded by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), which would give conservatives in both chambers more leverage.

Even with changes – like stripping out Ukraine aid and adding more border security funding – it’s unlikely the fractious House GOP conference would support the Senate bill, as House leaders have been unable to rally members around their own spending measures.

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “House passes spending bills and Ukraine aid, but still no deal” From the article:

Late yesterday, the House passed three of four spending bills that the Republican leadership put on the floor this week in an attempt to move forward on funding the government.

While money for State, Defense and Homeland Security was passed, a bill to fund the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration failed by a 46-vote margin, with 27 Republicans voting against it; sticking points for some GOP members included the level of spending cuts to the department and a provision to block the FDA’s decision to let pharmacies mail the abortion pill mifepristone, Rep. Dusty Johnson R-S.D., told reporters before the vote.

The House also passed $300 million in aid for Ukraine in a 311-117 vote – money that had been stripped from the defense spending bill to boost support for that measure. All the votes against the aid bill came from Republicans.

The Senate is not expected to pass the bills in their current form, meaning a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Sunday is no less likely. House GOP leadership and other negotiators had hoped progress on the bills would pave the way for a Republican-authored stopgap spending measure, called a continuing resolution, to prevent a government shutdown, but at least nine Republicans have said they won’t vote in favor of such a measure. Still, McCarthy has said he will put a short-term spending bill to a vote today…

September 29: The White House posted a Statement titled: “By the Numbers: Impacts on Extreme House Republicans’ 30% Cuts” From the Statement:

With one day before the end of the fiscal year, instead of following the bipartisan lead of the Senate to keep the government open, 90% of House Republicans just voted for a partisan bill to eviscerate programs millions of hardworking families count on – with a devastating 30% cut to law enforcement, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and more. They are breaking their word, abandoning the bipartisan deal that two-thirds of them voted for just four months ago, and marching our country toward an Extreme Republican Shutdown that will damage our economy, our communities, and national security. Here’s what it would mean for the American people if extreme House Republicans’ 30% cuts were extended for the entire year.

IMPACTS OF EXTREME REPUBLICANS’ 30% CUTS:

• 12,500 fewer FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes and keep guns out of the hands of felons and domestic abusers

• Nearly 1,000 fewer agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). ATF agents are often some of the first federal law enforcement on the scene of a mass shooting to help local law enforcement identify at-large shooters

• 500 fewer members of local law enforcement

• 2,215 fewer prosecutors fighting to keep America safe

• 250,000 children would lose access to child care

• 290,000 children would lose access to Head Start slots

• 1 million seniors would be robbed of nutrition services like Meals on Wheels

• 3.2 million women, infants, and children would lose vital nutrition assistance through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• 13,000 fewer National Institutes of Health research project grants, stalling research progress cancer and Alzheimer’s

• Up to 145,000 teachers and staff could be removed from classrooms and school

• 100,000 students would lose access to Pell Grants

• 10,000 fewer rail safety inspection days next year alone, and roughly 44,000 few miles of track inspected annually – enough track to cross the United States nearly 15 times

• 850,000 households could lose access to Housing Choice Vouchers

• 1 million American workers would be denied job training and employment services, with 135,000 fewer workers gaining the opportunity of a Registered Apprenticeship

• 180,000 workers would lose an average of $1,000 in back wages that they are owed

• 240 Social Security field offices could be forced to close or shorten the hours they are open to the public

• 37,000 fewer Americans would receive substance use treatment services.

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “White House warns about hit on small business loans if government shuts down” From the article:

The White House warned Friday that small businesses would miss out on $100 million per day in loans if there is a shutdown because Congress is unable to fund the government before a weekend deadline.

Administration officials argued in a memo that a shutdown would have “devastating consequences for small businesses and needlessly undermine America’s economic progress.”

A shutdown, according to the White House, would force the Small Business Administration (SBA) to stop processing new loans for small businesses, and small business loan applications wouldn’t move forward each weekday the government is shut down. The White House said a shutdown would deny more than $100 million in financing to small businesses every weekday during a shutdown.

“These delays can have devastating consequences for small business owners and the communities they support, including losing the ability to purchase critical real estate or equipment, losing out on business deals and opportunities, and being forced into high-interest, price-gouging loan,” the memo states.

Congress faces a late Saturday deadline to pass legislation to fund the government and prevent a shutdown, but House Republicans have been unable to agree to a plan to fund the government despite a deal that set ceilings on spending for the next fiscal year…

September 29: American Battle Monuments Commission posted “ABMC policy to continue operations during a lapse in appropriations” From the post:

AMBC policy is to continue operations during a lapse in appropriations if sufficient prior year funds are available. ABMC sites both in the U.S. and overseas remain open to the public. Additionally, guests are welcome to access and experience AMBC’s sites any time online through the ABMC Virtual 360s platform.

September 29: ABC News posted an article titled: “House Republicans fail to pass short-term funding bill as shutdown deadline looms” From the article:

House Republicans on Friday failed to pass a short-term funding bill to keep the government open until Oct. 31.

Earlier in the day, a procedural vote to start debate on the bill advanced 218-210, prompting Republican applause in the chamber.

However, more than a dozen Republican hard-liners voted against final passage — a blow to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as Saturday night’s shutdown deadline looms.

The final vote was 198 for, 232 against.

McCarthy, earlier Friday, tried to make the case for the bill by playing up the border security provisions being added to the stopgap measure.

“Every member will have to go on record on where they stand,” McCarthy said at a press conference. “Are they willing to secure the border or do they side with President Biden on an open border And vote against a measure to keep the government open?”

Border provisions were from Republicans’ major legislation passed earlier this year, such as a restart of border wall construction and tougher penalties for visa overstays.

The proposal also included keeping government spending to a lower level while maintaining Veterans Affairs and military spending, which would result in dramatic cuts to social spending programs and other areas across the government.

But it still wasn’t enough to appease Republican hard-liners, who’ve previously threatened to oust McCarthy as speaker of the spending battle…

…Even if the House measure were to pass, it is out of step with the Senate’s bipartisan 45-day stopgap proposal, meaning that passage is no guarantee to keep the government from running out of money over the weekend…

September 29: The Executive Office of the President – Office of Management and Budget posted a “Statement Of Administration Policy – H.R. 5525 – Spending Reduction and Border Security Act of 2024” From the statement: (written by Rep. Donalds, R-FL)

The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 5525, making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. Hours before a Government shutdown, House Republicans are playing partisan games instead of working in a bipartisan manner to fund the Government and address emergency needs.

In a blatant violation of the funding agreement the Speaker and the President reached just a few months ago, the bill endangers vital programs Americans rely on by making reckless cuts to programs, regardless of the consequences for critical services from education to food safety to law enforcement to housing to public health. It also failed to address key emergency funding needs where lives are at stake, ignoring the Administration’s request for resource to combat the fentanyl crisis and effectively manage the border, support the people of Ukraine as they defend their homeland from Russia’s illegal war, and stand with the communities across America as they recover from natural disasters.

In addition, H.R. 5525 fails to provide the resources needed to avoid severe disruptions to Government services – risking unnecessary delays for travelers by underfunding the Federal Aviation Administration; loss of access to nutritious food for pregnant and postpartum women and children by underfunding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and deterioration in service for the over 71 million Americans who rely on the income support Social Security programs provide.

The bill also includes harmful, partisan border legislation that would further exacerbate the challenges at the border. It would cut off most access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with the Nation’s values and international obligations. In addition, the bill would make processing less efficient by prohibiting the CBP One mobile application to process noncitizens and restricting the Department of Homeland Security’s parole authority, such that successful programs like “Uniting for Ukraine” would be prohibited. House Republicans propose these harmful policies while providing none of the supplemental funding needed to manage the border; we need real actions to secure the border.

The Administration urges House Republicans to follow the Senate’s lead and engage in a bipartisan, appropriations process that funds the Federal Government in a responsible manner, consistent with the bipartisan agreement earlier this year.

If the President were presented with H.R. 5525, he would veto it.

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Craft beer, marriages, and air travel: The collateral damage of a government shutdown” From the article:

The federal government does an almost unfathomable number of things, so a shutdown would likely affect everyday Americans more than they realize.

While the 4 million people who work for the federal government would be most affected, their lost wages and halted operations would reduce overall economic growth forecasts by 0.1% or 0.2% each week, a range of economists, including the White House Council of Economic Advisers, estimate.

Those employees would eventually get paid, meaning taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars in wages for millions of hours not worked, according to the Office of Management and Budget. And during a shutdown, the government ends up having to pay late fees and interest on bills it had to delay as it loses revenue that would otherwise be generated by furloughed IRS workers…

Here’s what might happen if the government shuts down again:

The National Park Service plans to close its parks and furlough park rangers if the government shuts down on Sunday. In that event, a senior official with the Department of Interior said the park service intends to restrict access to parks as much as possible, including shuttering visitor centers, locking gates and bolting bathrooms.

Areas where its difficult to restrict access – like the National Mall in Washington, trailheads or a campground without a gate – will remain accessible to the public, but those areas may not have services such as trash collection and emergency response…

Smithsonian and other federal museums

According to the Smithsonian’s plan, the institution would use “available prior-year appropriations” so that it’s museums can remain open to the public “as long as funding permits,” that includes the National Zoo, which could see an interruption in planned commemorations of the departure of the zoo’s remaining pandas.

Smithsonian museums are free, but they lost an estimated $4 million in revenue from food and other sales during the 2013 shutdown.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington would remain open, since it can tap a different pot of money, the museum said. Some presidential libraries would remain open as long as they have sufficient funds, but others would close and research services be reduced.

Military cemeteries

The American Battle Monuments Commission would be forced to close the two dozen overseas military cemeteries it manages, mostly in Europe and Southeast Asia, where more than 200,000 Americans killed in World War I and World War II are buried.

The commission said the closures could cause “families of the war dead, veterans’ groups, and others to miss what may be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to visit these overseas commemorative sites” during the shutdown.

Arlington National Cemetery would continue normal operations, at least for a while, thanks to funds that have already been appropriated…

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “Conservative opposition imperils GOP bill to avoid shutdown” From the article:

The House on Friday is poised to vote on a measure to prevent a government shutdown, but opposition from within the GOP puts its passage at risk.

The conservative pushback also undercuts Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as he seeks to fund the ggovermentn and unite his party after weeks of turmoil.

At least eight House Republicans are against or are leaning against the short-term funding stopgap.

With Democrats expected to universally oppose it, Republicans can afford to lose only four votes, assuming full attendance…

…GOP Reps. Tim Burchette (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) Cory Mills (Fla.), Andy Ogles (Tenn.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) have said they are against any kind of short-term stopgap bill, insisting that Congress focuses instead on passing regular appropriations bills…

…The opponents of the measure voted Friday to advance it past a procedural hurdle, but Gaetz said he voted in favor of the rule “so I can vote against this bad CR,” and that the bill “does not have the votes to pass.”…

…The opposition comes despite looming peril. Government funding is set to expire Saturday night, and discord in the House GOP and the gulf between the House and Senate – which is also yet to pass any sort of short-term funding patch – is all but assuring a government shutdown when the clock strikes midnight to end Saturday.

Friday’s House GOP stopgap bill would extend government funding until Oct. 31 with deep spending cuts for the duration, along with a swath of border policy changes and the creation of a commission to examine the national debt.

McCarthy is hoping that passing a House GOP funding bill would set up his conference to negotiate border policy concessions on a compromise bill with the Senate.

Instead, Friday’s vote could continue a long headache for McCarthy and GOP leaders, who were forced to pull a previous version of the stopgap last week due to the opposition…

September 29: The U.S. Department of the Interior posted a press release titled: “Government Shutdown Will Close America’s National Parks, Impede Visitor Access” From the press release:

The Department of the Interior is committed to upholding the highest standards of public access to and maintenance of America’s national parks and public lands. Our national parks reflect who we are as a country and unite us in our common purpose to not only enjoy their beauty, but also to preserve them for all Americans to enjoy.

However, in the event of a lapse in annual government appropriations, National Park Service (NPS) sites will be closed. This means that the majority of national parks will be closed completely to public access. Areas that, by their nature, are physically accessible to the public will face significantly reduced visitor services.

At NPS sites across the country, gates will be locked, visitor centers will be closed, and thousands of park rangers will be furloughed. Accordingly, the public will be encouraged not to visit sits during the period of lapse in appropriations out of consideration for protection and natural and cultural resources, as well as visitor safety.

Services and Sites Impacted by Lapse in Appropriations

Visitors should expect that many of the services and facilities they depend on at national parks will be closed or largely unavailable during a shutdown.

Due to the dramatic differences in accessibility, operations, size, visitation, location and infrastructure represented in NPS sites, the number of employees on site will vary. As a general rule, if a facility or are is locked, secured or otherwise inaccessible during non-business hours (buildings, gated parking lots, bathrooms, etc.) or is closed regularly for safety or resource protection, it will be locked or secured for the duration of the lapse in appropriations. Parks will not provide regular road or trail conditions updates. As a part of their orderly shutdown activities, park staff will post signs as appropriate to notify visitors that services, maintenance or other non-emergency management activities will not be conducted.

At parks with areas that are physically accessible to the public – meaning that due to their physical characteristics it is impossible or impractical to restrict public access, including park roads, lookouts, trails, campgrounds and open-air memorials – these areas will remain physically accessible to the public. This would include the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C. However, staffing levels and services including restroom and sanitation maintenance, trash collection, road maintenance, campground operations, and emergency operations will vary and are not guaranteed.

Concessions located in areas that are accessible to the public may continue to operate during a lapse in appropriations if no NPS resources are required to support concession operations beyond excepted services and critical health, safety and protection services.

Subject to the approval of the NPS Director, parks may enter into non-reimbursable arrangements with state, local or Tribal governments, cooperating associations, and/or other third parties for donations to fund the full operation of an individual park site or of specified services that clearly benefit the park and public by providing enhanced visitor health, protection and safety. The NPS is not authorized to reimburse third parties that provide donations for such services.

Activities to Protect Life and Property Will Remain Ongoing

During a potential lapse in government funding, the NPS will continue activities necessary to protect life and property, expressly authorized by law, and necessarily implied by law, including:

• Law enforcement and emergency response
• Border and coastal protection and surveillance
• Fire suppression for active fires or monitoring areas currently under a fire watch
• Protection of federal lands, buildings, waterways, equipment, and other property within the National Park system, including research property
• Activities that ensure production of power and maintenance of the power distribution system
• And other services and activities designated in the National Park Service’s contingency plan.

Additional contingency plans for bureaus and offices across the Department can be found online at doi.gov/shutdown.

September 29: Taxpayer Advocate Services (IRS.Gov) posted an article titled: “NTA Blog: If There Is a Government Shutdown, the Taxpayer Advocate Service Will Not Be Permitted To Assist Taxpayers” From the article:

As of today, it appears Congress may not approve appropriations legislation to fund parts of the government, including the IRS, by the start of the fiscal year that begins on Sunday, October 1st. As a result, today is the last workday I can post a blog before a potential shutdown.

Taxpayers and their representatives should be aware that if there is a lapse in appropriations, the Taxpayer Advocate Services (TAS) will not be permitted to assist taxpayers until the government reopens.

That means that if the IRS has already issued a notice requiring an employer to garnish a taxpayer’s paycheck or requiring a bank to levy a taxpayer’s bank account and those collections actions cause an economic hardship for the taxpayer, the taxpayer will have no way to get help from TAS.

This is a terrible result for taxpayers who are experiencing economic hardships and will not be able to obtain relief from TAS.

Here is a quick primer on why this is so: Article I of the Constitution provides that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequences of Appropriations made by Law.” To implement this requirement, Congress has passed several statutes, most notably the Antideficiency Act (ADA). The ADA generally prohibits the U.S. government from making or authorizing an expenditure or obligation unless funding has previously been made available through an appropriation or other funding mechanism. The ADA contains a general prohibition against the acceptance of voluntary services (i.e., services for which compensation has not yet been paid or obligated), except for “emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.” (Emphasis added.)…

...Question: What if a taxpayer is experiencing an economic hardship as a result of an IRS levy and stands to be evicted due to nonpayment of rent? Or if the IRS was simply mistaken in taking the collection action?

Answer: TAS won’t be able to help because the taxpayer’s abode is not government property…

…Not only will taxpayers be harmed by collection actions taken during a shutdown, but they may also be harmed by collection actions taken in the weeks preceding a shutdown. For example, a bank usually has up to 21 days to remit levied bank proceeds to the IRS. Therefore, at a minimum, taxpayers will continue to be affected by levies issued before September 11 if the government shuts down on Sunday. And if a taxpayer is facing an economic hardship, the Revenue Officer who issued the levy will probably not be in the office on Monday to assist the taxpayer, nor will my TAS Case Advocates…

As the National Taxpayer Advocate, I am beyond frustrated that TAS cannot help taxpayers who are experiencing economic hardships during a government shutdown. Helping vulnerable taxpayers is a big part of our mission…

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “House GOP tanks its own funding bill, edging closer to shutdown” From the article:

A band of House conservatives Friday voted down a GOP bill to avoid a government shutdown.

The vote marked a significant – and embarrassing – defeat for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as a shutdown this weekend appears increasingly inevitable.

More than 20 Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the legislation, bringing the final tally to 232-198.

The 20 GOP lawmakers who voted against the bill were: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Dan Bishop (N.C.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchette (Tenn.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Green, (Ga.), Wesley Hunt (Texas), Nancy Mace, (S.C.), Mary Miller (Ill.), Cory Mills (Fla.), Alex Mooney (W. Va.), Barry Moore, (Ala.), Troy Nehls (Texas), Andy Ogles (Tenn.) Matt Rosendale (Mont.), and Keith Self (Texas)…

…The bill did not stand a chance in the Senate, where Democrats were sure to line up against it. And the White House Friday morning issued a veto threat for the bill.

The tally was largely expected after a handful of conservatives – more than McCarthy could afford to lose in his narrow majority – lined up against the measure.

But the failed vote, nonetheless, marks a setback for McCarthy, who has pushed his GOP colleagues to clear a partisan stopgap bill so his conference could have greater leverage in funding negotiations with Democrats in the Senate and White House.

And it increases the odds of a government shutdown, which will go into effect Saturday night unless Congress passes a short-term funding bill by then…

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Why Biden is taking a hands-off approach to the looming shutdown” From the article:

…Biden’s hands-off approach to the looming shutdown is intended to project an image of him out in the country executing on what he considered key accomplishments as House Republicans fight over how to fund the government, White House officials say.

But a shutdown could scramble Biden’s strategy by grinding his travels to a halt.

The White House has been planning an aggressive travel schedule for Biden in October to tout his economic agenda, including a long-teased trip to the Georgia district of one of his loudest House Republican critics – Marjorie Taylor Greene. Vice President Kamala Harris and other top administrations officials are also set to crisscross the country next month amplifying his message.

But White House officials say they’re now looking at other ways to execute what they’ve dubbed a “split-screen” strategy, acknowledging that one of the impacts of a shutdown would be to curtail Biden’s ability to hit the road. Events that have already been scheduled for the coming weeks, such as Harris’ tour of college campuses, are expected to be postponed, an administration official said.

The contrasting White House approaches to a potential shutdown and the debt limit crisis in May are by design. While White House officials are deeply concerned about the political and economic fallout from a debt default, they say Republicans alone are responsible for the latest round of brinkmanship…

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “House GOP passes Pentagon funding bill after failed tries” From the article:

House Republicans late Thursday night approved legislation to fund the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2024, a success for GOP leaders after they decided to strip Ukraine funding from the legislation following two failed procedural votes.

The chamber cleared the measure in a 218-210 vote.

Approving the measure will not help Congress avert a shutdown before the September 30 government funding deadline, but House GOP leaders are hopeful that moving the legislation and another full-year funding measure will help convince conservatives to get on board with a short-term funding stopgap.

The Pentagon spending bill – which is the largest of the 12 full-year appropriations measures – has been a source of consternation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and its passage marks an incremental win for the Speaker…

…In an effort to shore up support for the legislation, McCarthy told reporters last week that he would remove the $300 million in Ukraine aid from the Pentagon bill and hold a separate vote on the money. but he reversed on that stance one day later after recognizing that a bill funding the State Department also included aid for Ukraine.

McCarthy said it would be “too difficult” to remove the assistance from the State Department bill, and as a result decided to keep in in both measures. The House ended up advancing both bills, along with two other spending measures, in a largely party-line vote, with [Marjory Taylor] Greene being the only GOP lawmaker to oppose the procedural vote.

The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to strip $300 million from the legislation, defeating the measure in a 330-104 vote.

But late Wednesday night, amid concerns that the Pentagon bill did not have enough support to pass, the House Rules Committee convened a last-minute meeting and moved to strip the $300 million from the legislation. The House advanced the separate Ukraine funding bill earlier on Thursday.

House Republicans proposed more than $820 billion in new funding for defense operations in the Pentagon appropriations bill. That includes what negotiators touted earlier this year as historic “investment in security cooperation funding for Taiwan,” pay bumps for military personnel and boosts for the National Guard Counterdrug Program.

The bill also included a spate of riders that Democrats have slammed as diverse and said could hurt recruitment, such as measures targeting efforts aimed at diversity, equity, and inclusion, and others the party says would be potentially harmful to those in the LGBTQ community.

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Conservative rebels tank McCarthy’s funding bill, raising odds of a shutdown” From the article:

A band of conservative rebels on Friday revolted and blocked the House Republicans’ short-term funding bill to keep the government open, delivering a political blow to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and likely cementing the chances of a painful government shutdown that is less than 48 hours away.

Twenty-one rebels, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a conservative bomb-thrower and a top Donald Trump ally, voted Friday afternoon to scuttle the 30-day funding bill, leaving Republicans without a game plan to avert a shutdown.

The vote failed, 198-232.

The hard-liners say they are unconcerned if the government shuts down, as it appears likely to do at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. They want the House to pass all 12 appropriations bills, with steep spending cuts, then negotiate funding with the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Moderate Republicans lashed out with fury at the conservatives who voted down the funding bill, with specific criticism reserved for Gaetz, whom they accused of fomenting chaos to oust McCarthy…

…In a bid to reset, House Republicans huddled behind closed doors in the Capitol basement for nearly three hours Friday to try and hash out their differences. But they emerged from that meeting without consensus on how to move forward and keep the government open.

The House will return for a rare Saturday session, but it’s unclear what they will vote on. McCarthy said that after the meeting he’s now eyeing a clean funding bill – with no Ukraine aid – that would originate in the House, but added that Democrats likely would not support it…

September 29: The White House posted a Statement titled: “During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, American Small Businesses Would Lose Out on More Than $100 Million in Critical Financing Every Day” From the Statement:

With just one day before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with peoples’ lives and livelihoods and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have devastating consequences for our small businesses and needlessly undermine America’s economic progress. Their partisan approach stands in stark contrast to the Senate’s bipartisan action toward keeping the government open and abiding by the bipartisan budget deal two-thirds of House Republicans voted for just four months ago.

An Extreme Republican Shutdown would force the Small Business Administration (SBA) to stop processing new business loans for small businesses. Each weekday the government is shut down, hundreds of small businesses would see their 7(a) and 504 loan applications fail to move forward. That means extreme House Republicans would deny more than $100 million in critical financing to American small businesses every day.

These delays can have devastating consequences for small business owners and the communities they support, including losing the ability to purchase critical real estate or equipment, losing out on business deals and opportunities, and being forced into high-interest, price-gouging loans. A shutdown would also make it harder for small businesses to access federal contracting opportunities by halting the processing of applications for nearly all government contracting programs – only months after the SBA announced that the Biden-Harris Administration had awarded a record $163 billion in contracts to small businesses in Fiscal Year 2022. And an Extreme Republican Shutdown would close the SBA’s district offices, preventing more than 2,000 Americans every day from receiving assistance.

During the first two years of the Biden-Harris Administration, Americans filed more than 10.5 million applications to start new small businesses, the two strongest years on record – part of the President’s Bidenomics agenda to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

The reason this critical support for small businesses is now at risk: extreme House Republicans’ relentless efforts to slash funding for vital programs – including those that help small businesses – rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-thirds of them voted for just a few months ago and instead proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that would make devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on – including to the Small Business Administration…

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “What will happen to health programs if the government shuts down?” From the article:

The vast majority of what the federal government spends on health care is on big entitlement programs – Medicare and Medicaid. Those are not directly affected by a government shutdown, according to Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.

However, a prolonged shutdown could hamper the federal government’s oversight of Medicaid, which provides health coverage for people with low incomes. That oversight is particularly important right now as a pandemic-era rule that kept people enrolled in the program ends and millions of people begin to lose coverage. More than 90 million people in the U.S. get their coverage through Medicaid, according to the KFF.

If the shutdown persists, Levitt said, the effects will be felt directly in poor communities as funding for health clinics and other programs dependent on federal grants dries up. These clinics typically offer a wide range of services, including primary and preventative care, dental care and mental health services.

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “In a shift, McCarthy floats a clean stopgap without Ukraine aid” From the article:

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Friday evening floated passing a “clean” continuing resolution without Ukraine aid, marking a clear shift in the possibilities he is willing to consider to avert – or end – a shutdown after being repeatedly undercut by his own party.

The Speaker on Friday did not commit to putting such a measure on the floor, and other Republicans leaving a conference meeting said that lawmakers are still exploring GOP-only possibilities to bring up for a vote on Saturday.

But it is clear that McCarthy has nearly exhausted his options for working exclusively within his own party. Earlier on Friday, 21 House Republicans voted against a 31-day GOP-crafted stopgap bill that included deep spending cuts and conservative border policy changes.

“I think if we had a clean one without Ukraine on it we could probably be able to move that through,” McCarthy said after a lengthy GOP conference meeting on Friday when asked about a clean continuing resolution. “I think if the Senate puts Ukraine on there and focuses Ukraine over America, I think that could cause real problems.”

The Senate is considering a separate, bipartisan continuing resolution that would fund the government until Nov. 17 and includes $5.99 billion for disaster relief and $6.15 billion for Ukraine – a figure that has drawn criticism from Republicans in both chambers.

And Senate leaders appear to have little incentive to strip the Ukraine funding. The Senate bill overwhelmingly cleared to procedural hurdles with support from both sides of the aisle. And in the House, more than two-thirds of the chamber – all Democrats and a little less than half of Republicans – voted in favor of a separate $300 million Ukraine funding measure…

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “NASA will maintain people to ‘protect life and property,” including ISS Crew” From the article:

In a statement today, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “If House Republicans force a shutdown, it will have devastating consequences for NASA, families across the country, and America’s global competitiveness.”

NASA will “maintain the people to protect life and property – operational missions, such as satellites, landers, and rovers, as well as the International Space Station and its crew,” according to Nelson.

The agency is still identifying just how many people would need to keep working through a shutdown.

September 29: The Hill posted an article titled: “Biden: McCarthy making a ‘terrible bargain’ with ‘MAGA Republicans’ in spending fight” From the article:

President Biden had harsh words for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, saying he made a “terrible bargain” with the conservative wing of his party in a battle over spending which has made a government shutdown likely.

Biden, in an upcoming interview, argued McCarthy is making a deal with “MAGA Republicans” – which have been loyal to former President Trump – and putting his speakership before the needs of the people.

“The speaker’s made a terrible bargain. In order to keep the speakership, he’s willing to do things that he, I think, he knows are inconsistent with the constitutional processes,” he told ProPublica’s John Harwood in an interview set to air on Sunday.

“There is a group of MAGA Republicans who genuinely want to have a fundamental change in the way that the system works,” the president said. “And that worries me the most.”…

September 29: NBC News posted an article titled: “Lawmakers with babies and toddlers push Congress to stop the ‘child care cliff'” From the article:

Millions of families are at risk of losing child care after this weekend when emergency funding allocated to providers during the coronavirus pandemic expires. Congress faces a Saturday deadline to act before the $24 billion Child Care Stabilization Program ends, putting thousands of day care centers, preschools and other child care centers in jeopardy.

At the forefront of the fight to extend the funding are lawmakers who themselves rely on child care to be able to do their jobs: moms and dads of babies and toddlers. With the government also barreling toward a shutdown this week, some of them are sounding the alarm that time to take action is running out…

…Seventy thousand child care programs are projected to close as a result of the funding loss, and at least 3.2 million young kids could lose their child care, according to an analysis from the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.

The impact will snowball, the report says, costing families an estimated $9 billion every year in lost earnings. And with more people pushed out of the labor market because of struggles to find or afford child care, the economic ramifications could be huge.

At the center of the lawmakers’ efforts to stave off the crisis is the Child Care Stabilization Act to extend the critical funding. It has the backing of at least 111 House members and 37 senators. But all are Democrats (or caucus with Democrats), and with Republicans in control of the House, it faces a slim chance of passing this year…

…Among those pushing the bill is one of the most prominent new voices for child care funding, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who co-founded the Congressional Dads Caucus after he took his infant son on the House floor during some of the many rounds of votes to confirm Republican Kevin McCarthy of California as House speaker in January…

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September 30, 2023

September 30: The Guardian posted an article titled: “The hidden cost of a shutdown: America’s battle with food insecurity” From the article:

With 1 October looming, a US government shutdown appears imminent, and the farm bill is set to expire. Members of both the House and Senate have been drafting proposals for its renewal, which happens every five years. The bill is responsible for financing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that many Americans rely on to feed their families.

Though hunger prevention advocates are calling for Congress to renew the bill before its expiration, the likelihood of a freshly revised iteration being near completion by the end of the day is low. Yet, food insecurity continues to rise in America.

More than 34 million people, including nine million children, are struggling to put food on the table.

In a recent household survey conducted by the US Census Bureau, more than 26 million Americans said they did not have enough to eat during the 12-day period of the study that concluded this month. That sample represents nearly a 50 percentage increase during a similar window from 2021. This upsurge is due to a number of factors, including the end of pandemic-era aid.

Another study released this month by Feeding America reflected a similar finding, emphasizing the far-reaching consequences of hunger.

That report is underscored how the pandemic reshaped the landscape of food insecurity and its lingering effects, signaling one of America’s gravest growing crises. Approximately 80% of Americans experiencing hunger believe that inflation and rising food costs have worsened the issue of hunger nationwide and 93% of those surveyed expressed concern that the situation will deteriorate even more. They highlighted factors such as rising housing costs, job loss, unemployment, the presence of chronic health conditions or disabilities, and an abundance of low-paying jobs as significant contributors and interconnected root causes of their food vulnerability…

…Another element of the rise in food insecurity, which saw almost 50 million Americans turning to food pantries and soup kitchens in 2022, is cuts to social assistance and fixed-income programs like food stamps, the child tax credit and pensions…

…The pandemic has also particularly aggravated food insecurity among families with children and communities of color, who were already disproportionately affected by hunger before the outbreak. Many of these households don’t meet the eligibility criteria for federal nutrition programs, forcing them to turn to local food banks and other community food assistance programs for additional support. Research shows that there is a higher prevalence of hunger in African American, Latino and Native American communities that can be attributed to systemic racial injustices…

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “McConnell announces Senate Republicans will defer to House spending Bill. From the article:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) announced Senate Republicans will vote against advancing the chamber’s bipartisan stopgap spending bill, instead of deferring to a bill coming from the House as the main way to avoid a government shutdown.

McConnell told reporters that the House bill, which is a 45-day continuing resolution that includes disaster aid funding but no money for Ukraine, is the preferred option of his members, and that they will overwhelmingly vote against cloture in order to focus on that option.

Shortly after McConnell’s remarks, that bill passed in the House in an overwhelming bipartisan 335-91 vote and heads to the Senate.

“I’m fairly confident that most of my members – our members – are going to vote against cloture,” McConnell said of the Senate-crafted bill. “Not necessarily because they are opposed to the underlying bill. But to see what the House can do on a bipartisan basis, and then bring it over to us.

The Senate is expected to vote on the House’s stopgap bill Saturday evening.

September 30: The White House posted a Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Office Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young” Here is a portion of that Press Briefing:

…And finally, before I do turn it over to our guest, I wanted to make one more thing very clear, which we have been doing as an administration from here for the past couple of days.

Now, as you all know, extreme House Republicans are so- – are solely – solely to blame for marching us toward a shutdown. That is what we’re seeing right now. It is a basic fact and one that many of you have already reported.

I know how much you will love when I quote, folks, so here we go.

Politico wrote, and I quote: “Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s choice to go back on the deal he made with [the] President is about a plunge – is about to plunge the federal government into chaos,” end quote.

Punchbowl says, and I quote, “McCarthy is the only congressional principal no longer abiding by the agreement,” end quote.

Washington Post writes, quote, “Of course, Biden has played no role in bringing Congress to the brink of a shutdown,” end quote.

And it’s not just what you are all reporting. It’s also what Republicans are saying themselves.

Leader McConnell said, and I quote, “Shutting down the government is a choice. And it’s a choice that would make the crisis at our Southern border even worse,” end quote.

Speaker McCarthy said, some individuals, quote, “just want to burn the whole place down,” end quote.

Represen – Representative Garret Graves said, “The arsonists have li – have lit their house on fire.”

Representative Matt – Matt Gaetz said, “We cannot have a government shutdown and… We cannot blame Joe Biden… We cannot blame House Democrats.”

Representatives George Santos and Ralph Norman admitted in saying – by saying, “Shut it down.” Those are their words.

But no one can explain what House Republicans are shutting down the government over. It’s a serious question, and they don’t have a good answer for it.

As Nich – Newt Gingrich said, and I quote, “I frankly don’t understand it – I think it’s sort of nuts. There are times when people vote yes one day, and then they come back and vote no the next day and can’t explain why they switched,” end quote.

So, here we are today facing a possible shutdown. Because even after Speaker McCarthy said that the bipartisan budget agreement would help “Congress work again to do their jobs, the appropriation bills,” he chose a different path – an extreme partisan path toward a shutdown – a Republican – extreme Republican shutdown…

…So, let me step back for now. For more on how the Speaker has broken his word and the impacts of the devastating cuts he is proposing, we have our OMB Director Shalanda Young to talk through those – those impacts…

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Hi.

Q: Hello.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Who all thought I’d be back here so soon? (Laughter.) Maybe you all did. I certainly hoped I would not.

It’s been just four months since President Biden, House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats all made a bipartisan budget deal. You all were there. I was there. You remember what it took to get to that deal.

We shook hands, two thirds of Congress voted for it, and the President signed it into law – a commitment to the American people that reduced the deficit, protected critical programs, and ensured their government remained open.

Today, four of those five sides I just listed are sticking by that deal. The one side, House Republicans, are refusing to live up to their end of the bargain. They have turned their back on the deal. They are on an island entirely by themselves and entirely of their own making. Their chaos – and their chaos alone – is now threatening to push us into a shutdown.

This is not only a violation of the deal; the President signed this deal into law. And let’s be very clear about what they are demanding as a condition of keeping the government open. It’s all right there in the CR they’re considering right now. plain black and white.

Their bill includes devastating 30 percent cuts. You heard me: 30 percent cuts.

And listen to what that means. It would eliminate 12,000 FBI agents, almost 1,000 ATF agents, and more than 500 local law enforcement; kick almost 300,000 children out of Head Start; rob more than a million seniors of nutrition services, like Meals on Wheels.

And guess what? If they don’t get their way, if we don’t go along with the devastating cuts I just listed here, they want to force a shutdown that will hurt our economy and national security.

What would a shutdown mean? More than 2 million service members wouldn’t get their paycheck. Long-term disaster recovery would be further delayed. Nutrition assistance for nearly 7 million women and children who rely on WIC would be jeopardized. Small businesses would lose out on more than $100 million a day in loans. What kind of choice is that?

In addition to the more than 2 million service members who won’t get their paychecks, we’re talking about more than 1.5 million federal civilian employees, by current estimate – roughly a quarter of whom are veterans – missing paychecks. Meat and food inspectors, Border Patrol agents, air traffic controllers, TSA agents – just a small example.

On top of that, federal contractors have no guarantee of back pay. None. The thousands of federal contractors who serve the mission of this country to serve the American people, no guarantee that they’re made whole.

Folks who I see around my office every day, people you see around here cleaning, who can least afford to miss a paycheck no guarantee they will be made whole.

Our message is simple. House Republicans need to stick to the agreement we already reached and they already voted for, do the job they were elected to do.

And we know it’s not a lot to ask for because just yesterday an overwhelming 76 senators, Democrats and Republicans, voted to move forward on a bipartisan bill to keep the government open.

Enough is enough. A deal is a deal. Extreme House Republicans need to stop playing political games with people’s lives, keep their promise, and keep the government open.

Here are some of the questions asked of Director Young by the press:

Q: I know you mentioned a couple workers – cleaning staff, people in your office. Can you give us a bigger picture of who at the White House will be affected? Who will be deemed essential and – and who will be furloughed, including the press team for –

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Yeah, I think –

Q: – our purposes? (Laughter.)

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Yeah, no. (Cross-talk.)

DIRECTOR YOUNG: I’ll let them read out the specifics of who will be here. But just like every federal agency, there are legal definitions about who can work during a time of shutdown. No one, clearly, gets paid, but there are people who will be furloughed, and there are people who will be excepted, who –

And just at a macro level, about 800,000 people would be excepted across the government out of the one and a half million civilians I talked about, and about 700,000 [crossed out] [820,000] would be furloughed.

I don’t want to get into specifics of different agencies and the White House. We can read out – I’m sure you talk to the various offices later. But that is a large amount of people who will be furloughed across the government.

The White House and OMB will feel the same as the rest of the agencies. We will do the best we can to continue to service the American people. Clearly, our men and women in uniform will be at their duty stations – without pay, unfortunately. So, we will keep vital national security things going – life and safety.

But it will be hard to do everything government should do for the American people in a shutdown.

Q: And then, quickly, do you and President Biden regret trusting McCarthy?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Look, I won’t go there. (Laughter.) And it’s not a trust exercise, right? We passed a law.

Q: Well – well, but you had –

DIRECTOR YOUNG: It’s not a trust – I didn’t fall backwards in the woods. (Laughter.) It’s not a trust exercise.

Q: But when you cut –

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Yeah, we’re not – we’re not – it –

Sev- — seventy percent of House Republicans voted for a bill. So it’s beyond trust; we have a law. What else are we supposed to do?

This President is committed to governing, committed to doing the right thing. This is who the Republican Conference elected to be their speaker. He asked to work with us on the budget deal. We did that. We find ourselves here.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Colleen.

Q: I wondered if you could talk about the U.S. assistance to Ukraine in the face of a shutdown? What happens to it? How does it work? Do you know?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Well, just like the rest of defense and our diplomacy efforts, we do as much as we can. Clearly, there is carryover money to keep some things going. But it’s impacted – just like if we don’t get further assistance, that is impacted.

You cannot do more with less when you talk about a wartime effort. It just doesn’t exist. And there are rules for a reason. You must have money to buy things.

So, we also worry about our own stockpiles. So, even if we could continue to deliver, what can we do to ensure American readiness does not suffer?

So, I worry about that in a shutdown. And I worry about that if we don’t keep the – critical aid going to Ukraine, which is why you saw, on a bipartisan basis, the Senate move forward to keep that going.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Hi, Director.

Q: What do you see as the end game here? Are you willing to make any concessions to the hardline Republicans? And for how long are you expecting this shutdown to last?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: So, one, I think you get into real trouble in this town trying to play crystal-ball maker. I will tell you what the fastest path is to make sure this does not happen. You saw it in the Senate, with bipartisan vote to keep the government running.

I think we have to remember the we’re talking about: 47 days. Not a year, not two – 47 days. The point of a CR – we call them “stopgaps” – you keep stuff going. What did you do on September 30th as a government? You should keep doing that on October 1.

This is not hard. It is not meant to come back and negotiate and – and redo things we just agreed to do three months ago. It is to keep the government open to give congressional negotiators more time on long-term bills. This is not an exercise in reopening negotiations. We negotiated, at the Speaker’s request, three months ago.

My life is still recovering from it. I remember it very vividly. There are no negotiations left to have on a 47-day bill.

The conversation that needs to happen is with the Speaker and the Republican conference, period.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, MJ.

Q: Thank you, Director Young. Given that FEMA is already only prioritizing urgent and life-and-death operations, in the even of a shutdown, how long can even just those operations be sustained?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Look, it depends on – we’re still in hurricane season. People think that it ends in August, September. So, my answers will be assuming no more major disasters happen. Everything is on the – off the table if something really truly catastrophic happens. But on due course, we think we can continue to do life and safety from FEMA.

But you’re right, FEMA is holding over 2,000 projects in abeyance because of their current fiscal situations. When did we tell Congress about this? In mid-August. It’s now late September. We told them we cannot pay our disaster relief bills in mid-August. It’s now late September, and they are now marching us towards a shutdown where those 2,000 projects just get longer and longer and longer.

So, if you are my home state of Louisiana, if you are Puerto Rico, if you are Texas, anyone who has a major de- — declaration in the past who are doing long-term recovery, we have to continue to hold to pay for those – those projects that are needed to continue to rebuild.

Q: But the life-and-death operations, though, they can continue indefinitely?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: They can continue. But I want you to know, that statement applies if there are no more large, large events. You know, I – we will have a different answer if there is a catastrophic event that pushes FEMA past the point of being – having enough money to do life and safety.

Right now, if there are no catastrophic events, we can continue to do life and safety.

Q: But if there are, then that may not be possible?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: I mean, that is alway the answer. I’ve done FEMA budgets since I was a baby staffer on Appropriations. All rules, all statements are out the windows when you have large, large events. They just skew the numbers needed so greatly.

Q: Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Patsy.

Q: Thanks, Karine. (Inaudible.) Do you have a – and I’m sorry if you mentioned this at the topper. Do you have an estimate of how much does it cost when we have a shutdown and then we reopen the government again – an estimate of, you know, per day or per week or however long it goes?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Yeah, we’ll say – look our analysis on a shutdown really is tied to how long it happens. But one can expect, like, a 0.1 to 0.2 percent – I think most economists agree – hit to GDP.

The hope is, though, during a shutdown, if that happened, the economy would be able to pick that GDP loss up in the next quarter. So, it may not be a permanent loss.

But why risk our economy for a manufactured shutdown, all a problem within one conference in Congress?

I say 0.1 and 0.2, and that doesn’t sound big – 0.1 percent of our economy is $26 billion.

Q: I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. That’s a hit to the economy. But is there an actual cost to, you know, shutting down the government and then reopening again, like any kind of logistical admin costs?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: So, it will not cost anything that would be outside of our normal – our normal spin rate, like the people in the office on – not the 30th, because the 30th is a Saturday – on the 29th will do the work they need to do today. They will pr- –be provided, like, four hours on their devices to – to send people – and have out of office, send people last messages.

But there tends not to be – we don’t have to go close major infrastructure. There’s not a large spike in spending in order to close down.

What is really expensive is the hit to – to GDP, the inability of people to access services like WIC. And it’s not just new people signing up for things like WIC; it is people who are on WIC currently. They cannot get access to the meals they would normally get. That is the real impact to the American people.

…MS. JEAN-PIERRE: … But go ahead, Ed.

Q: Great to be here. Thank you Shalanda. So, the Treasury Department now says the federal deficit is at $1.5 trillion. You know, that’s more than the CBO projected. The President has pushed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, he’s pushed the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan. He signed spending $5.8 trillion over the past two years.

Spending is at the heart of this impasse. So, does the President bear any responsibility for a shutdown?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Absolutely not. And by the way, the deal was to ensure that we had a fiscally responsible plan – I think the name of the bill was the Fiscal Responsibility Act – that saved a trillion dollars over a decade.

And, look, if House Republicans want to join us in the Fiscal Reduction Act, I’m happy to talk to them about the tax cuts they have pending in Ways and Means that add to the deficit. I’m also happy to talk to any Republican who voted for two and a half trillion dollars of tax cuts, unpaid.

So, the problem I have is when people vote for that, bust the deficit on tax cuts for the wealthy, and then come and say we’re doing to much for Head Start and childcare and cancer research. Because that’s what we’re talking about.

They’ve taken the smallest amount of spending, do nothing about taxes for the rich, and they want to cut the smallest amount of spending. That’s not serious fiscal conversation. Anybody in D.C. will tell you, you cannot get on a better fiscal path by going after these domestic programs. They’re the smallest portion of our budget. It ain’t going to happen. It’s not serious. Even cutting it 30 percent doesn’t put you on a better fiscal path.

So, let’s just get real. It’s not about that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right.

Q: (Inaudible)- has one more. So the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says that he’s not going to take a salary during the shutdown. Does the President plan to pause his salary also?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Look, I’m glad that the Speaker has made that statement. By the way, members of Congress have to get paid, constitutionally, so maybe he’ll out it in a sock drawer. I don’t know. (Laughter.) But they have to get paid during a shutdown. That’s theater. That is theater.

I will tell you, the guy who picks up the trash in my office won’t get a paycheck. That’s real. And that’s what makes me angry.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Peter. Thanks for your patience.

Q: If I can ask you very briefly about – we’ve been – we’ve seen this show before where it goes down to the wire and then, at the last minute, something happens or several days pass before anything happens. Can you just talk about, fundamentally, the impact – even if this were to be resolved – of playing this game where it goes to the last minute before there’s a short-term spending bill, how that sort of impacts the way our country runs? Because a lot of Americans see that, and they know that’s not the way it can work in their own homes.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: You’re right, and you’re right. I mean, we have time – what’d the President say? There’s nothing inevitable in politics. We don’t have to go down this road; House Republicans don’t have to take us down this road.

So, you’re right. There – there is always a chance that people can do the right thing and the government remain open or have a quick reopening.

Q: But even getting to this place, there’s already –

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Right.

Q: – been a ton of money lost, right?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Not a ton of money lost. The confidence in government is what I worry about. People watching this – the dysfunction sowed. And I think there are a small amount of people who know that. You know, it’s the – it’s the carelessness by which people is like, “Oh, this shutdown is not much of government” Well, you tell people who live paycheck to paycheck that.

I know it’s not popular to defend federal workers. I know it’s not. But a lot of them live paycheck to paycheck. “The get repaid.” What are they supposed to do in the meantime? What are they supposed to do?

And then people can’t get government services. You go sign up for WIC. You finally convinced this mother it’s the right thing to do, because a lot of families are embarrassed about taking aid from the government. You finally convince this young mother to go do that. Not available. Confidence lost in government.

It’s one more knock on democratic institutions. And that worries me.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Joey.

Q: Yeah, as we get closer to a shutdown at the end of the week, does it remain the case that President Biden is unwilling to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as he’s suggested he would like to do?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: It’s not an unwillingness. We’ve talked. We talked a lot. The President talked a lot to Speaker McCarthy. We got a deal. This is the easy part.

Pe- — the debt deal was two and a half years. Now we’re talking about 47 days to keep the government running, to give Congress time to work on full-year spending bills. This is not hard. This is just not hard.

And, by the way, every day I read some other reason why they can’t vote on the Senate bill – the Senate bipartisan bill. It changes every day.

So, there’s not – not an unwillingness. We’ve had this conversation. The Speaker wanted to set towlines. We set them. Now he needs to talk to whomever he needs to talk to in the Republican conference and live up to that deal.

Q: What will be the engagement from President Biden to lawmakers, particularly as we get, you know, closer, Saturday – tomorrow?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: You’re talking about a president who was a former senator for 36 years. He has close relationships on the Hill. He stays in dialogue with Congress.

Clearly, there’s going to be an uptick in that as we are led down this path by House Republicans. And that’ll continue. The President is constantly updated on what is happening.

But, I’ll tell you, we’re at the 29th. We have until midnight tomorrow. What needs to happen is the one corner out of five who is having problems with their votes and their strategies need to find a path to meet the other four – four corners at the deal we all signed up for in early summer.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. A couple more. Go ahead, Michael.

Q: Thanks, Karine. Director Young, can you talk a bit more about the impact a shutdown will have on the crisis at the Southern border?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: We asked for $4 billion to help deal with migration challenges at the border. You wouldn’t know that to hear what Republicans talk about. If border is an issue for House Republicans, where’s the dialogue on what the President asked for to help with enforcement, to help with transportation costs, to help with detention capacity?

You know, I’ve done this a long time. This is just a new – a new, interesting time in our political atmosphere where we can’t get Republicans to really engage us on more money to help control migration issues at the border. Almost no dialogue. No interest in talking on the President’s requests. No interest in dealing with fentanyl issues that we asked for more money to deal with to put equipment to find fentanyl coming through.

So, there is serious, and there is not serious. The president asked for money to help deal with the issues that hurt people: disaster, Ukraine, and border. We appreciate the Senate meeting us to make sure Ukraine aid continues, disaster aid continues.

But let’s not forget: This president asked for money to deal with the situation at the border. And you’re absolutely right. During a shutdown, not only do we not get the $4 billion we asked for to help, we’re asking CBP agents, ICE agents to go without pay. How is that helping?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Director. I’ve been speaking to many mothers who rely on WIC for food for their babies, and they don’t follow the ins and outs of politics and whether a shutdown would be the fault of Congress, the White House, the President. They just can’t believe that this country’s leaders would allow babies to go hungry. So, what would you say to them?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: I’d go back to my answer earlier. You know, I worry about people’s engagement and thought about their government. It worries me tremendously that people will show up on Wednesday or Thursday, trying to decide whether they were going to even apply for this aid, because a lot of people don’t trust – like, their friends tell them to go get this, and they’re like, “Ah, it’s going to be difficult – a lot of paperwork.” So, it takes convincing for people to go seek this aid. And then be told, “Never mind. Never mind, the government is closed, shut down.”

They don’t follow the ins and outs. It’s a pox on all of our houses. That’s why four out of five corners are trying not to go there. We’re doing everything we can to plead, beg, shame. “House Republicans, do the right thing. Don’t have this happen.”

The cavalier-ness is what gets me. I’ve heard people say in the Republican – in House Conference, “Oh, a shutdown is not that bad. It’s not like the debt ceiling.” Well, you go tell people who cannot pay their daycare bill. You go tell people that. You go tell men and women in uniform that they don’t get a paycheck when they show up to work every day. You got tell that mother that she cannot get formula after having had to be convinced to even give government at try. It’s the cavalier-ness that really really gets me.

And you’re right. It’s – it sets an expectation for how people deal with their government throughout their lives. And something we should work really hard to avoid.

Q: And to follow on that, could you clarify the total number of workers that would go without paying next week, and now many of them would still be required to show up to work?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: So, in civilians, 1.5 million – about 800,000 of them would be excepted and have to show up to the office.

As you know, depending on how long shutdowns go, people can be called back into work if their job and their duties, you know, start to fall into one of the categories that’s excepted. So, there could be – there will be – would be changes in those numbers if a shutdown would continue.

Q: And what about the breakdown for the military’s 1.3 million active-duty troops and the reservists plus DOD personnel?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Right. It’s a little over $2 million – 2 million people who serve who are all expected to show up to their duty stations.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Just the last two. Go ahead, Aurelia.

Q: Thank you so much. Thank you, Director. You said this shutdown could be a knock on democratic institutions. What about the international reputation of this country when it seems like the United States is going from one major fiscal crisis into another?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: I think you just answered it. You know, this country, we owe our services to the American people. We talked a lot about one of those in WIC, we talked about cancer research. But our diplomatic efforts – this President has worked harder than most to hold alliances together that represent democratic institutions, the Western alliance, and ensure that the world knew America was back.

I do believe we will continue to do most of our missions as best as possible. We will show up where needed. But it certainly makes that more difficult the longer and longer this goes on. But in a very short-term situation, I think we will remain the same – with the same posture across the world.

Now the question is how we’re viewed. You know, it – it is not the shining example we want to portray that we continue to have fiscal crises because other world leaders look at that.

But I’m still hoping – I’m still remaining an optimist that we have a day and a half to work out in one corner what is needed to take the deal that is laid before them by the United States Senate. So, there’s still a chance.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Last question.

Q: Thank you, Director. Given that we’ve seen in prior shutdowns that some of these workers have to go to work without pay, including in the travel industry, FAA and others, that they might report – call in sick in greater numbers. Do you have any guidance around that or any estimates as to how that might affect the shutdown period?

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Look we don’t shut down often…

…So, it doesn’t happen often, so there aren’t numbers. We certainly have anecdotal evidence that that happens on occasion. And it goes back to what I talked about earlier: People make decisions that are best for their families.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Thank you so much, Director. We appreciate it.

DIRECTOR YOUNG: Thank you. Thank you.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you so much, Director Young.

I do want to add something that the Director said, which I think was really important, about how this affects families. I think I’ve seen on some of the cable news networks this morning – if it was this morning – that you’ve seen, like, federal workers being interviewed and members of the military. And you see people – I thin one interview, someone was crying about how this is going to affect this – this shutdown that we’re – that Republicans in the House are barreling – barreling just to is going to affect them.

And we’re – this is real. This is real-life – real-life changes and real-life impact on people across the country.

And there was one military person who was interviewed who said that one of the reasons they went into the military is to have that stability – right? – is to make sure that they have a stability in their life.

And when you have one of the five groups who are taking away that stability because of a political stunt, because of their chaos within their own – within their own caucus, and they do that to a military member – personally who is really, truly putting their lives on the line for this country, and they’re saying that they no longer have the stability that they thought the military would bring them, I think that’s devastating.

And that’s, you know – this should not be partisan. This should be bipartisan. This is supposed to be basic, basic duty of Congress to do this – to do their jobs. And its going to have – if we do indeed have a shutdown, it is going to truly, truly hurt some of the people that we rely on every day, as well as cutting some key programs that families – that families need.

With that, Colleen, you want to kick us off?

Q: Sure. Can you say anything more about what the President’s plans are going to be this weekend in the face of the shutdown? What’s he going to be up to?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I can say that the President is going to be in Washington, D.C. And he’s going to remain in touch with congressional – well, our team here is going to continue to remain in touch with congre- -congressional leaders and members of both parties.

Certainly, he’s going to get updates on what’s – what’s happening – what’s happening on – on the Hill. But again, if – this is an – this is going to be the extreme part of the House Republican – this is going to be their shutdown. So, we do not – I don’t expect any travel outside of D.C. from this president. But, of course, if that changes, we certainly would communicate that. But the President will be here.

He’ll be getting updates from his team and the team more broadly. As you saw, the – the Director was here.

And – and also our Office of Leg Affairs is going to stay close in touch with members – with leaders – congressional leaders on the Hill.

Q: Would he be meeting with anybody in person this weekend?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I – no, I don’t have any – I don’t have any meetings or – to read out as it relates to – to Congress. But what I can say: This is something – and we’ve said it over and over again, and it needs to be repeated – this is something that Congress can fix. This is something that extreme – those extreme Republicans in the House can fix. They know how to fix this.

We just heard the process that the OMB Director went through – right? – earlier – earlier this summer, late spring on making that – helping to make that bipartisan deal become a law.

And so, this – we should not be here. We should – she shouldn’t have been here at this podium talking about a potential shutdown. It should not have been this way. And they can fix it.

Q: On the auto workers strike – so, it’s expanded now. And I just wondered if the White House is concerned about broader economic impact of a strike as it, sort of, wears on – I think it’s two weeks in? Two weeks in?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things – and I’ve been asked this question about the potential impacts. Look, we always – we always take a look at what a major economic situation – the potential impacts could have, certainly, in our economic – in our economy more broadly.

But I will just go back to what I’ve said. This does – as it relates to the shutdown, the shutdown doesn’t need – does not need to happen. These programs that families need should be continuing. This – we should not be in this position that we’re in.

This is something that Republicans in Congress – in the House, more specifically, – are heading – heading us towards. And you – you saw there was a – there was a chart that was up when we were speaking. And, you know, Senate – Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, House Democrats, the President, we’re all on the same page here. And for some reason, extreme House Republicans refused. They refused to get on – to get on board here.

And as it relates to the shutdown: should not be happening. This can be avoided. They can fix this if they choose – if they choose.

Go ahead.

Q: Thank you, Karine. I hear what you’re saying and –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: About what?

Q: About Republicans –

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q: – and that they have to fix this. “It’s their problem. It’s not ours.” And that’s exactly what the White House said before the deal was struck about raising the debt ceiling. Initially, you guys weren’t going to touch any kind of negotiation because you said it was solely up to House Republicans, up to Congress to raise the debt ceiling.

But then, the President did intervene to avoid the U.S. defaulting. So, I’m just trying to understand at what point would the President intervene to avoid a shutdown?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I understand your question as well. Here’s the thing. And – and I think Director Young did a really good job laying this out. What we are talking about is a bill – a bipartisan bill that became law. That’s what we are talking about. Something that became law that was agreed by the five sides, right? The House Republicans even themselves, two thirds of them voted for this.

This is law. This is an agreement that was already made, that multiple conversations were had about this. This should be simple. This should be easy.

And that’s what we’re talking about. We’re talking about something that already existed not that long ago that they all literally voted for in the House and in the Senate, in a bipartisan way – something that I’ve said before – that’s what Americans want us to do here in – in Congress and in the Whi – in the White House – right? – in the federal government: to get things done in a bipartisan way so that it helps American families.

And that’s what they’re doing – they can fix it. There’s no conversation that needs to be had because they literally can fit this. It is their chaos. They can fix this. And what they’re putting at risk is our economy; our national security, as we just talked about the military personnel. It’s a – you know, and –

You know, we have been able – the President in the last two years have been able to get our economy back on track, right? We’ve talked about the 13.5 million jobs. We talked about unemployment being under 4 percent. And what they’re doing is incredibly irresponsible, and it is reckless.

So, that’s the difference. When you’re asking me – you know, you don’t quite understand and are trying to figure out what we’re talking about. We already made the deal. That’s why we keep saying “a deal is a deal.”

And it’s not just – it’s majority of Congress that agrees with us, right? When you think about what the Senate – the Senate actually moved forward and kept their deal. When you think about 77 senators who are moving forward – who voted to move forward with their CR. They are keeping the deal.

We’re talking about a small fraction of Congress. And that’s – and that’s reckless. That’s irresponsible. And that’s why we’re saying it is not us – for us to – it’s not on us to fix. It’s not on this president to fix it. It is on Congress to fix.

And it’s not just us. You – I started the briefing listing out – listing out quotes from – from Republicans in Congress themselves…

…MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead.

Q: Thank you. Does the President plan to take up McCarthy’s offer to meet, and does the White House see any value in that?

MS JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I’m going to be very clear. The per- the person that McCarthy – or the people that McCarthy needs to talk to is his own caucus. That’s who he needs to have a conversation with, not the President.

The President had multiple conversations with Speaker McCarthy very early on to get this bipartisan deal. That two thirds of the House – Republican House – Republican House voted on. The conversation is not between the President and McCarthy. He needs to – he needs to –

Q: So, he’s turning it down?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He needs – what I’m saying very clearly is the conversation needs to happen between Speaker McCarthy and his – and his caucus. That’s where – that’s the fix. That’s the chaos that we’re seeing. And that’s where he needs to focus on….

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “House Republicans to vote on 45-day clean stopgap funding bill” From the article:

The House will vote Saturday on a 45-day “clean” stopgap funding bill that includes money for disaster relief, a major turn in strategy for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ahead of a midnight showdown deadline.

The clean continuing resolution (CR) would require support from two-thirds of the House for passage because it is being considered under a fast-tracked mechanism called suspension of the rules. That means it would rely heavily on Democratic support to pass.

It will not have border policy changes, a non-starter for Democrats, or funds for Ukraine that some Republicans opposed.

McCarthy announced the plan following a nearly two-hour closed-door conference meeting.

“We will put a clean funding stopgap on the floor to keep government open for 45 days for the House and Senate to get their work done,” McCarthy told reporters after the meeting. “We will also, knowing what had transpired, through the summer, the disasters in Florida, the horrendous fire in Hawaii, and also the disasters in California and Vermont. We will put the supplemental portion that the president asked for in disaster there too.”

“Keeping the government open while we continue to do our work to end wasteful spending and the wokeism and most important, secure our border,” he added.

If the bill does not pass, Republicans plan to bring up several measures to mitigate the effects of a government shutdown, multiple members said…

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “Embattled Congress lurches toward midnight shutdown” From the article:

Congress is lurching toward a shutdown that would begin early Sunday morning, with House Republicans battling one another and the Senate moving forward with a bipartisan plan that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has not committed to bringing to a vote in the House.

Senators are poised to vote Saturday afternoon on a bill to fund the government until Nov. 17. The legislation includes $6.15 billion for Ukraine and $6 billion for disaster relief.

McCarthy has drawn a line in the sand on Ukraine funding, and floated the idea of a “clean” measure that would not include funding for Ukraine.

A number of conservative in McCarthy’s conference would oppose such a measure, and it would need Democratic support to pass.

The Senate bill, if approved by the upper chamber, would likely pass the House if it were given a vote on the floor.

But a majority of the House GOP conference voted against a measure Thursday on Ukraine aid, and bringing the bill to the floor could come with political pain for McCarthy, who is working under the threat of a “motion to vacate” from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other opponents that would essentially be a vote to remove him as Speaker.

McCarthy, who refuses to work with House Democrats, hasn’t been able to pass a government funding stopgap with just Republican votes because a small group of conservatives has refused to go along with his spending strategy…

September 30: CNN posted an article titled: “Biden aides are sure Republicans will be blamed for a possible government shutdown” From the article:

As Speaker Kevin McCarthy tries to placate his House Republican conference in the fight over spending, the White House is holding out hope of a bipartisan deal brokered days ago in the Senate can eventually overcome the standoff.

Until then, however, President Joe Biden’s aides are confident that any blame for a government shutdown will land squarely on McCarthy and his fellow Republicans, according to sources familiar with the matter.

“There’s no expectation that McCarthy will be able to pass something on his own” that could clear the Senate, one senior administration official said. How long a potential shutdown lasts “depends on how much pain McCarthy can endure.”

Watching the chaos unfold from the other end of Pennsylvania Ave, Biden and his aides have adopted a mostly hands-off approach, accusing McCarthy of reneging on a spending deal and listing the ways a shutdown would inflict damage on normal Americans.

McCarthy has declined to schedule a House vote on the Senate bill, which includes $12 billion in total aid for Ukraine and domestic disasters and would keep the government open until November 17. Hardline House Republicans have been seeking steep, across-the-board spending cuts to federal agencies and funding for border enforcement – and are waging a battle to remove McCarthy as speaker if they don’t get it.

“I think that the speaker is making a choice between his speakership and American interests,” Biden told Democratic donors in San Francisco this week, highlighting the administration’s view that Republicans will ultimately suffer politically if they fail to avert a shutdown…

…”The people that McCarthy needs to talk to is his own caucus,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked whether Biden would consider meeting with the speaker. “The conversation needs to happen between Speaker McCarthy and his caucus.”…

September 30: The White House (@WhiteHouse) posted on X “With just three hours left, Congress has passed a bipartisan bill to avert a government shutdown – excluding the demands of the Extreme House Republicans.

Now it’s on the way to President Biden’s desk where he will promptly sign it into law.

It never should have been this close.”

September 30: The White House posted a Statement titled: “Statement from President Joe Biden on Passage of the Bipartisan Bill to Keep the Government Open” From the Statement:

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 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.

September 30: The Hill posted an article titled: “Congress votes to avert shutdown” From the article:

Congress averted a shutdown with just hours to spare, capping a dramatic day that started with a lapse in government funding appearing all but inevitable.

The Senate voted 88-9 to pass a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government at current levels through Nov. 17 and gives the Biden administration $16 billion it requested to assist victims of natural disasters. The House had earlier passed the measure in a bipartisan 335-91 vote.

The CR notably lacks any funding for Ukraine, spending cuts or border policy changes.

The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature before midnight, with both sides claiming victory.

“Bipartisanship, which has been the trademark of the Senate, has prevailed. And the American people can breathe a sigh of relief,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The vote âme together after a hectic day on both sides of the Capitol, one Schumer descried as full of “twists and turns.”

House Republicans huddled in the morning and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) – having exhausted all options to pass a GOP-only stopgap plan – made a sharp shift in strategy and announced the clean CR, dealing a blow to hardline conservatives who have stymied leadership at every turn in recent weeks…

…”Let me tell you, today wasn’t a choice we wanted to have. We tried to pass the most conservative stopgap measure possible,” McCarthy said after Saturday’s vote. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have 218 Republicans.”

But it wasn’t immediately clear the measure would get the Democratic votes it needed to pass.

September 30: The White House posted “Press Release: Bill Signed: H.R. 5860” From the Legislation:

On Saturday, September 30, 2023, the President signed into law:

H.R. 5860, which provides fiscal year appropriations to Federal agencies through November 17, 2023, for continuing projects at the Federal Government and extends several expiring authorities.

September 30: The White House posted a Presidential Action titled: “Message to the Congress on Designation of Funding as an Emergency Requirement in Accordance with Section 114(c) of division A of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act” From the Presidential Action:

In accordance with section 114(c) of division A of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024, and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 5860; the “Act”), I hereby designate as emergency requirements all funding (including the transfer and repurposing of funds) so designated by the Congress in the Act pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as outlined in the enclosed list of accounts.

The details of this action are set forth in the enclosed memorandum from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. – JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

September 30: CNN posted an article titled: “READ: The 45-day spending bill that passed the House” You can find an embedded copy of the bill in the CNN article.

September 30: Stars and Stripes posted an article titled: “Government shutdown averted with little time to spare as Biden signs funding before midnight” From the article:

The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly lifted late Saturday as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open with little time to spare after Congress rushed to approve the bipartisan deal.

The package drops aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but increases federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting Biden’s full request. The bill funds government until Nov. 17.

After chaotic days of turmoil in the House, Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly abandoned demands for steep spending cuts from his right flank and instead relied on Democrats to pass the bill, at risk to his own job. The Senate followed with final passage closing a whirlwind day at the Capitol.

“This is good news for the American people,” Biden said in a statement.

He also said the United States “cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted” and expected McCarthy “will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”

It’s been a sudden head-spinning turn of events in Congress after grueling days in the House pushed the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown.

The outcome ends, for now, the threat of a shutdown, but the reprieve may be short-lived. Congress will again need to fund the government in coming weeks risking a crisis as views are hardening, particularly among the right-flank lawmakers whose demands were ultimately swept aside this time in favor of a more bipartisan approach…