Live updates: House passes bill to keep government open for 45 days, sends it to Senate
A surprise and overwhelming bipartisan vote sends the bill to the Senate, which is expected to pass it to avoid a shutdown at midnight. The deal lacks additional aid for Ukraine.
The Capitol in Washington in January.Drew Angerer / Getty Images file
Updated Sept. 30, 2023, 3:45 PM EDT
By NBC News
The latest on a government shutdown:
- Today is the last day for Congress to fund the government. A last-minute agreement passed the House with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, sending a bill to keep the government open for 45 more days to the Senate.
- A shutdown will begin at 12:01 a.m. if Congress does not finish its work in time, but the bill is expected to pass the Senate.
- The House voted to pass a the short-term bill from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., which also includes disaster relief funds, but does not include new aid for Ukraine.
- McCarthy brought up the new bill after House Republicans failed to pass their short-term spending bill Thursday in an embarrassing defeat.
- The Senate had been working on its own bipartisan bill to keep the government open through Nov. 17.
5m ago / 3:45 PM EDT
McCarthy complains Democrats stalled (before bailing him out on CR vote)
Speaker McCarthy spoke at length at his press conference, complaining that Democrats stalled the vote to pass a 45-day stopgap measure and suggesting that they did so because they wanted to shut the government down.
But his griping — and suggesting that it was Democrats who really wanted to shut down that government — seemed to miss the fact that his bill wouldn’t have passed with them.
Democrats kept saying they wanted more time to read the bill and know what was in it. Republicans kept saying that meant they opposed the bill.
Ultimately, Democrats delivered big time for the speaker. Of the 335 votes in favor of the measure, 209 were Democrats. Just 126 Republicans joined them, with 90 members of the GOP voting “no.”
6m ago / 3:43 PM EDT
Senate Dems meeting any minute on path forward
Frank Thorp V
Senate Democrats will meet today at 3:45 p.m. ET, a Senate Democratic aide says.
During that meeting they will discuss the path forward for voting on the House-passed CR, which could happen within the next two hours, Democratic senators leaving the floor said.
18m ago / 3:32 PM EDT
McCarthy: Ethics Committee should look into Rep. Bowman pulling fire alarm
McCarthy said the Ethics Committee should look into Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., pulling a fire alarm before the CR vote. “This is serious.”
“I’m gonna have a discussion with the Democratic leader about it. But this should not go without punishment. This is an embarrassment,” McCarthy said.
23m ago / 3:27 PM EDT
McCarthy dismisses concerns that some Republicans opposed stopgap measure
Speaker Kevin McCarthy sought to dismiss that it would be a problem for him within his caucus that he passed a stopgap measure with the overwhelming help of Democrats.
“I tried every possible way listening to every possible person in the caucus,” McCarthy said.
He said he would have preferred the earlier version of the short-term spending bill that included funding for the border.
“I want to be part of the conservative group that wants to get things done,” he said.
34m ago / 3:16 PM EDT
White House puts pressure on McCarthy to pass separate Ukraine bill
Monica Alba
The White House reacted to the news of the House passing a clean short-term bill to fund the government by saying that the administration expects McCarthy to pass a separate Ukraine bill shortly.
“We fully expect Speaker McCarthy—who has stated his support for funding to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s illegal and unjustified war of aggression—will bring a separate bill to the floor shortly,” a White House official said in a statement.
46m ago / 3:03 PM EDT
What Happens Next in the Senate with the House-passed CR?
Frank Thorp V
Now that the House has passed its 45-day stopgap funding bill and is sending it to the Senate, we expect Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle to ask their members if they would be okay expediting consideration to vote and pass it later Saturday.
Any agreement to vote in the Senate on Saturday would require the agreement of every senator, but with the overwhelming support for the bill and the deadline approaching, the agreement is expected to come together.
Stay tuned!
52m ago / 2:58 PM EDT
Senate Republicans overruled McConnell on Ukraine aid
Julie Tsirkin
Senate Republicans overruled Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Ukraine aid during two separate closed-door lunch meetings yesterday and today, two sources with direct knowledge of conversations tell NBC News.
On Friday, McConnell successfully argued against Sen. Ron Johnson’s clean, two-week CR because it did not include funding for Ukraine.
But on Saturday, when he tried to make the same argument against proceeding with the House Republicans’ clean, 45-day CR for the same reason, McConnell was overruled.
Moments after the closed-door meeting, McConnell told reporters he instructed his members to vote against the bipartisan CR that included Ukraine aid and instead support the House effort.
This is significant for several reasons — McConnell typically has a firm grip on his conference, and they follow his lead. But this time, he was evidentially overruled.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a staunch supporter of more aid to the war-torn country, said Thursday he was not concerned that the exclusion of the aid would send a bad signal to European allies.
He told me they would, eventually, pass the funding attached to some sort of border security provision.
53m ago / 2:57 PM EDT
House passes 45-day measure to keep government open
SEPT. 30, 202302:18
55m ago / 2:54 PM EDT
Rep. Matt Gaetz tried to speak but was stymied by adjournment
Kyle Stewart and Ginger Gibson
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., tried to get the attention of Rep. Steve Woman, R-Ark., who was acting as the speaker when the funding measure passed.
Gaetz shouted “Mr. Speaker” in an unsuccessful effort to be recognized and be allowed to speak on the floor.
But Womack recognized another member, who made a motion to adjourn and ended the day’s session in the House.
The vote to keep the government open was exactly the kind of vote that Gaetz had warned would result in him trying outside McCarthy as the speaker — a spending bill passed with a majority of Democrats and not all of the Republicans.
1h ago / 2:49 PM EDT
House adjourns
After passing a 45-day stopgap measure with overwhelming bipartisan support, the House adjourned until Monday.
The ball is now in the Senate’s court.
1h ago / 2:47 PM EDT
House passes 45-day measure to keep government open; sends bill to the Senate
In a surprising turn after seeming unable to collect enough support, the House voted 335 to 91 to pass a 45-day stopgap spending measure that would keep the government open beyond midnight.
The legislation passed with bipartisan support, with nearly every Democrat joining most Republicans despite the lack of support for Ukraine, which Democrats had made a priority.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
1h ago / 2:46 PM EDT
Democratic Coalition supports 45-day CR, says Ukraine funding still needed
Liz Brown-Kaiser
Democratic Coalition Chair Annie Kuster said while her group will support the continuing resolution, aid for Ukraine is still needed.
“Speaker McCarthy and extreme House Republicans have refused to work in good faith with Democrats to fully fund the government, despite our continued calls to find a bipartisan path forward,” she said in a statement. “While we support this measure to end this immediate crisis, we continue our calls for additional funding to support Ukraine in their fight for democracy and will work tirelessly to ensure they have the assistance required to win this war.”
1h ago / 2:41 PM EDT
House has votes needed to pass 45-day spending measure; voting continues
The House vote on the 45-day continuing resolution needs a 2/3rds majority to pass. With 290 votes and counting cast in favor of it, there appears to be the support needed to pass the bill.
Voting continues and any member can change their vote before it concludes.
1h ago / 2:39 PM EDT
Jeffries told Democrats to vote for 45-day spending bill
Julie Tsirkin
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told his members to vote in favor of the 45-day continuing resolution put forward by House Republicans.
This means it is likely the 45-day “clean” CR will get a 2/3rds majority and pass the House.
1h ago / 2:39 PM EDT
Quiet from the White House…
Monica Alba
There has been radio silence so far from the White House on whether President Biden would encourage Democrats to support or oppose a 45-day stopgap funding bill.
Behind-the-scenes, however, senior administration officials are closely monitoring the latest Hill developments and evaluating what’s in the short-term CR in real-time, just like many lawmakers are doing.
1h ago / 2:31 PM EDT
The risks to the economy of a long-term shutdown
The most immediate impact of a shutdown will be furloughs and paused paychecks for hundreds of thousands of government employees and contractors.
Analysts don’t expect to see major ripple effects across the U.S. economy if a shutdown lasts just a few weeks, but the longer the federal government stays closed, the greater the chances of broader fallout.
Here’s a look at what to expect:
1h ago / 2:27 PM EDT
The House is voting now on a bill to avoid a shutdown for 45 days
Sarah Mimms
The House is voting now on Speaker McCarthy’s 45-day stopgap measure to avoid a shutdown.
1h ago / 2:23 PM EDT
Rep. Jamal Bowman allegedly pulls fire alarm in House building
Some reports began to emerge on Twitter that Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., was seen on camera pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House office building earlier today around the time the House was supposed to begin voting on the new CR plan.
The House Administration Committee, which oversees the Capitol Police, posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, from Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis.
“Rep Jamal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning. An investigation into why it was pulled is underway. — Chairman Bryan Steil”
Neither Bowman nor the Capitol Police immediately returned requests for comment.
Rep. Bowman allegedly pulls fire alarm in House building
SEPT. 30, 202303:40
Democrats cheering as Jeffries promises news soon
Members have been coming back into the conference meeting and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., came back a moment ago, saying he would have some news shortly.
We just heard cheers from the room.
2h ago / 2:16 PM EDT
McConnell says he is encouraging GOP to vote no on Senate CR
Frank Thorp V
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he is now encouraging his conference to vote no on the bipartisan Senate CR (which he has very vocally supported until this point), saying it’s “not necessarily because they’re opposed to the underlying bill — but to see what the House can do on a bipartisan basis, and then bring it over to us.”
“It looks like there may be a bipartisan agreement coming from the House,” he said. So, I’m fairly confident that most of my members, our members, are going to vote against cloture — not necessarily because they’re opposed to the underlying bill — but to see what the House can do on a bipartisan basis, and then bring it over to us. So, under these circumstances, I’m recommending a no vote even though I very much want to avoid a government shutdown.”
The move likely means that the procedural vote the Senate was about to hold, which would be at a 60-vote threshold, would fail, blocking consideration of the bipartisan CR that the Senate has been working on all week. It’s not entirely clear if Schumer will continue with the vote, or wait to hold it until the House votes on their new CR.
2h ago / 2:12 PM EDT
Government shutdown may threaten air travel, national parks and more
SEPT. 29, 202302:20
2h ago / 2:11 PM EDT
Jeffries has finished talking, debate continues
Kyle Stewart
Leader Jeffries has stopped talking on the floor after 52 minutes. Debate on the 45-day CR has resumed.
2h ago / 1:59 PM EDT
The ‘motion to vacate’ explained: How the House can oust a speaker
Kyle Stewart
Rep. Matt Gaetz and other GOP hard-liners have been threatening to bring a motion to vacate, a vote to overthrow McCarthy as speaker.
Here’s what you need to know about how a motion to vacate would work and the history of the maneuver:
In his bid to become speaker of the House, McCarthy agreed to a number of concessions to secure the support of Republicans who originally opposed him. One was a rule change to allow just a single member to try to force him from office.
Under the House rules passed in January, only one member of Congress — Democrat or Republican — is needed to bring a “motion to vacate,” which forces a vote on removing the speaker. That would need only a simple majority of the House to pass to oust McCarthy.
So in theory, a small group of Republicans who want to force out the speaker could work with Democrats to reach the votes needed to remove the speaker.
2h ago / 1:57 PM EDT
McCarthy: ‘I tried to pass the most conservative bill I could’
Julie Tsirkin and Abigail Russ
Speaker McCarthy told reporters he’s trying to “be the adult in the room.”
“I tried to pass the most conservative bill I could, and a few Republicans said no to that,” McCarthy said. “So, here we are, hours away. The Senate cannot act in time. Government will shut down. So, I want to be the adult in the room. A clean bill to … keep government funded, make sure FAA is there and then take care of the disasters that happened over the summer from Florida, Hawaii, California, Vermont.”
McCarthy accused Democrats of “trying to stop it from happening.”
“They’re trying to slow everything down. So we have a government shutdown. I don’t understand that,” he said
2h ago / 1:39 PM EDT
Jeffries: We’re ‘expected to simply trust the word’ of GOP?
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.., is still speaking on the floor, criticizing Republicans for moving this 45-day bill so quickly.
“We are on the brink of a government shutdown. And at the 11th hour legislation is dropped on the American people. And we’re told that you have 5 or 10 minutes to evaluate legislation that is more than 70 pages long and expected to simply trust the word of our extreme MAGA Republican colleagues.”
“We’re working through evaluating that legislation.”
Jeffries addresses GOP stopgap funding bill proposed on the ‘brink of a shutdown’
2h ago / 1:25 PM EDT
Meanwhile, the Senate has delayed its vote to discuss what’s going on
Frank Thorp V
A 1 p.m. procedural vote in the Senate related to the upper chamber’s bipartisan stopgap government funding bill has been delayed and senators have been summoned to the floor to discuss the path forward, a procedure called a “live quorum call.”
Senators are walking to the floor now, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., just said he hopes to learn more about the House’s 45-day bill when he speaks to colleagues on the floor.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., just walked onto the floor and called a bill that doesn’t include Ukraine funding — like the House bill — “awful, a simply terrible idea.”
Hakeem Jeffries is holding the floor, to buy time
Scott Wong and Kyle Stewart
The Democratic leader is holding the House floor, as Democrats seek more time to read the 45-day stopgap measure.
“Strap in, because this may take a little while,” Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said.
As leader, Jeffries has “magic minutes,” meaning he can speak for as long as he wants. So the CR vote timing is up in the air.
When Kevin McCarthy was House Minority Leader, he spoke for more than 8 hours to delay the Democrats from moving forward on legislation.
McCarthy says his bill ‘will only fail if Democrats vote against it’
Julie Tsirkin
Asked if his 45-day CR will pass, McCarthy responded: “It will only fail if Democrats vote against it.”
“This is an opportunity to make sure our troops get paid while we finish our job. … So let’s keep it open while we finish the work that we have to get done,” he said.
McCarthy dismissed Democratic criticism of the rushed process.
“How is it rushed if it’s just a basic CR? … This only goes 45 days. This has nothing to do with anything else. The only thing that’s added into it, it helps the FAA,” he said.
Democrats are passing around a flyer highlighting issues with McCarthy’s bill
House Democrats are passing around this one-pager criticizing Speaker McCarthy’s stopgap bill, according to a Democratic aide who shared the document with NBC News:
3h ago / 1:08 PM EDT
House will not adjourn; their 45-day funding bill should be up soon
Sarah Mimms
The House will stay in session after voting against a Democratic motion to adjourn. House Democrats had wanted to buy more time to read the new Republican CR — and they did so during the vote by writing their votes down by hand and submitting them individually.
Both parties ended up voting against adjourning.
The vote was 427-0.
3h ago / 12:58 PM EDT
Democrats say it’s hypocritical for GOP to drop a bill and expect a vote this fast
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., called it “absurd” for Republicans to expect Democrats to vote on a CR this quickly, noting that the GOP has established a 72-hour rule that is supposed to give members 3 days to read new legislation.
“We asked for 90 minutes to simply read the bill. Think how absurd it is that the Republicans made a big deal of a 72-hour rule before you vote on bills. … They literally dropped this bill, with maybe a few minutes to read it,” Lieu said. “Completely hypocritical.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. added: “I don’t see any possibility of voting for something without — and that’s pretty much the consensus of the Democrats — until we know what’s in there.”
3h ago / 12:53 PM EDT
Senate Republicans appear to support the House’s 45-day bill
Frank Thorp V and Sahil Kapur
Senate Republicans are currently meeting in the Capitol to discuss the path forward, and the consensus appears to be that if the House were able to send its new 45-day stopgap CR that does not include Ukraine or border security money they would support it in the Senate.
“I mean, I think it could” pass, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. told reporters. “But I don’t know if they can get it out. I think right now we’re kind of waiting to see what they do.”
“I think that would pass in the in the Senate,” Sen Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said.
Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine funding, also expressed support for the new House bill, saying they would negotiate a supplemental package later that included Ukraine and border funding.
“You’ve got to put together a border/Ukraine package,” Graham said. “That maximizes Republican votes, and we need a lot of money for Ukraine.”
But for any new bill to make it to the Senate floor for a vote today it would require a time agreement amongst all 100 senators, so any one senator (on either side of the aisle) could delay consideration of the bill past the midnight deadline.
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said they wouldn’t object to bringing the bill directly to the floor for a vote.
3h ago / 12:32 PM EDT
Chart: How much federal workers make
Joe Murphy and JoElla Carman
While most American workers earn less than $50,000 a year, most federal workers earn more than that. A full 78% earn more than the $56,000 median income for a full-time worker in the U.S.
4h ago / 12:12 PM EDT
Senate Republicans waiting on House action
Frank Thorp V
Thune on if he thinks the 45 day CR without Ukraine funding could pass in the Senate:
Sen. John Thune, R-S.C., said he thought a 45-day continuing resolution “could” pass in the Senate but doesn’t know if the House “can get it out.
“I think right now we’re kind of waiting to see what they do,” he said.
Senate Republicans will meet over lunch to discuss the path forward. Mexican food is on the menu.
4h ago / 12:03 PM EDT
Motion to adjourn
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said that since the Democrats’ request to have 90 more minutes to read the GOP continuing resolution was denied, she made a motion to adjourn. It failed in a voice vote, so Clark asked for a roll call.
4h ago / 12:00 PM EDT
Democrats are conflicted
House Democrats have tried to find out whether it’s a clean continuing resolution to fund the government or if it calls for some reductions.
Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., said he would vote yes “if it’s a clean CR” but needs to check in with leadership first.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., has also indicated he would vote for it.
4h ago / 11:57 AM EDT
Democratic leader bristles at the GOP proposal
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said his members were not necessarily going to back the GOP continuing resolution. He said it was “just dropped upon us at the 11th hour,” and that his caucus’s view was that “nothing the Republicans have said this year is trustworthy.
“And we’re expected as elected representatives just to blindly vote on it like sheep, with that record of having your credibility undermined over and over and over again? At minimum, we need time on behalf of the American people that we represent to evaluate the continuing resolution that will be before the House of Representatives,” he said.
4h ago / 11:51 AM EDT
House Democrats hold emergency meeting
House Democrats head to an emergency caucus meeting to discuss a GOP continuing resolution, according to Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado.
4h ago / 11:41 AM EDT
Two-thirds approval needed to pass the bill
Julie Tsirkin, Kyle Stewart, Rebecca Kaplan and Syedah Asghar
The 11:45 a.m. vote will be “under suspension,” meaning the House does not need to pass a procedural rule before voting on the bill. It will require two-thirds support in the House to pass. In other words, Republicans will need Democrats to support it for it to pass.
4h ago / 11:20 AM EDT
House to vote on 45-day CR at about 11:45 a.m.
Kyle Stewart
The House is expected to vote on a 45-day continuing resolution at about 11:45 a.m. today.
5h ago / 11:19 AM EDT
McCarthy’s defiant tone doesn’t mean a bipartisan deal is happening
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck a defiant tone as he exited the morning meeting — an indication of how contentious this has become among House Republicans. McCarthy dared someone to remove him for “being the adult in the room.”
But it’s not clear the bill he’s putting to a vote has enough bipartisan support to become law, particularly without Ukraine funding. A stopgap bill with disaster aid and Ukraine money would likely pick up significant Democratic support and pass the Senate.
McCarthy on efforts to avoid a shutdown: ‘We’re going to finish our job’
SEPT. 30, 202305:19
5h ago / 11:11 AM EDT
McCarthy dares critics to remove him from speaker seat
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, leaving a morning meeting with House Republicans, dared his critics to remove him for trying to keep the government open.
“If somebody wants to remove [me], because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” he said. “But I think this country’s too important.”
He added: “If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that.”
5h ago / 11:09 AM EDT
House to vote on 45-day continuing resolution today
Kyle Stewart
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the chamber would vote today on a 45-day continuing resolution that would keep the government open until mid-November.
The bill won’t contain funding for the war in Ukraine, Scalise said.
Without the Ukraine funding and with hardliner Republicans still opposing a temporary spending bill, its unlikely the measure will pass.
5h ago / 10:50 AM EDT
McCarthy-ally MTG says she will continue to oppose CR
Kyle Stewart
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., left the morning meeting and insisted that she will still continue to oppose a continuing resolution that would keep the government open.
Greene, who had appeared to ditch her rebel-caucus credentials when she helped Speaker McCarthy win a protracted battle to lead the chamber, said that doesn’t matter this time.
“I fought for the speaker. I fought for the gavel. … I also voted for the debt ceiling and I got attacked over it,” she told reporters. “But I told my constituents and I told the country when it comes to appropriations, you better bet I’m going to use my voting card to make sure this place does its job.”
5h ago / 10:35 AM EDT
Republicans say they lack the votes for a continuing resolution
Republican Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told lawmakers this morning there are not enough GOP votes to pass any Republican-drafted CR, or continuing resolution, to temporarily fund the government, according to a source in the private meeting.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced the House would vote on three bills: one to pay troops during a shutdown, another to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and a third to reauthorize the nation’s flood insurance program, the source said.
5h ago / 10:31 AM EDT
Rep. Molinaro: ‘Take the next best option’
Julie Tsirkin
Republicans have begun to leave their morning meeting and talk to the press about what was said behind closed doors.
“We presented the most conservative short-term funding option with border security available,” Rep. Marcus Molinaro, R-N.Y., said, referring to the bill that was blocked on Friday. “It is necessary for us to take the next best option, which is not to abandon the people who expect services from us.”
5h ago / 10:24 AM EDT
Rep. Tim Burchett says House should have started earlier this morning
Kyle Stewart
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said the House is wasting time not trying to figure out a spending deal sooner.
“Here we are,” he told reporters in the Capitol this morning after 10 a.m. “We should have been at this seven o’clock in the morning talking about it.”
6h ago / 10:19 AM EDT
National parks would close if government shuts down, official says
The National Park Service plans to close its parks and furlough park rangers if the government shuts down as expected Sunday, a move that would spoil vacation plans for tens of thousands of people and put some gateway towns in an economic chokehold as long as the impasse in Congress lasts.
The park service plans to restrict access to parks as much as possible, shuttering visitor centers, locking gates and bolting bathrooms, a senior Interior Department official said.
Areas where restrictions are difficult, such as the National Mall or some trailheads, would remain open to the public, but trash collection, emergency response and other services wouldn’t be guaranteed.
6h ago / 9:44 AM EDT
Today’s Senate schedule, so far
Julie Tsirkin
The Senate will come back into session at noon, and the next procedural vote related to the bipartisan Senate stopgap continuing resolution will happen at about 1 p.m. (unless something changes between now and then).
If the procedural vote passes it starts up-to-30 hours of debate, which would push us past the midnight deadline barring a time agreement.
7h ago / 9:17 AM EDT
Chart: How much federal workers make
Joe Murphy and JoElla Carman
Federal employees have greater rates of higher education compared to the overall U.S. workforce: More than half have at least a bachelor’s degree and 1 in 5 have a master’s degree or higher.
7h ago / 9:12 AM EDT
Today’s house schedule, so far
Julie Tsirkin
House Republicans will gather in person for a conference meeting in the Capitol at 9:30 this morning, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
This comes after the House failed to pass a GOP stop-gap measure with border security provisions attached yesterday, with 21 hardline conservatives issuing a political blow to Speaker McCarthy and making the prospects of a government shutdown tonight all but certain.
At 10:00 a.m., the House officially comes into session and the floor opens. There is no vote currently planned in the House.
7h ago / 8:58 AM EDT
U.S. barrels toward shutdown as House Republicans remain stuck
With a deadline hours away, congressional leaders on Saturday have been scrambling to secure a last-minute funding deal to prevent a government shutdown that would inflict economic pain on millions of American families.
Unless Congress acts, the government will close at 12:01 a.m. Sunday — halting paychecks for the nation’s 4 million service members and other federal workers, shuttering federal parks and monuments and disrupting food and education programs for low-income children.
Many dejected lawmakers said a shutdown is all but inevitable at this point after conservative hard-liners in the House on Friday tanked a 30-day stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution or CR.
7h ago / 8:58 AM EDT
Who on Capitol Hill gets paid during a shutdown, and who doesn’t
Kyle Stewart and Julie Tsirkin
Members of Congress are required by law to continue receiving their paychecks during a government shutdown, even as their staff and millions of federal employees would go without pay if the funding deadline lapses.
Since that can have political implications, some House lawmakers have submitted letters to the chamber’s chief administrative officer to request that their pay be withheld if the shutdown takes place as expected. Even if their pay is withheld, lawmakers would still get paid once the government reopens.
At least a handful of lawmakers, including GOP Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Zach Nunn of Iowa, have requested a pause in their paychecks if there’s a shutdown, but it’s not clear exactly how many have taken that step.
When asked how many letters have been received, a spokesperson for the chief administrative officer declined to comment.
Capitol Hill staffers, on the other hand, will not get paid during a shutdown.
House staff are normally paid on the last day of each month, meaning they would be receiving their last paychecks ahead of a shutdown today.
Senate staff members are paid twice a month, on the 5th and 20th. If the government shuts down, they will go without pay until the government reopens.
7h ago / 8:58 AM EDT
‘Turmoil’ on Capitol Hill after short-term funding bill fails in the House.
SEPT. 29, 202308:11
Sponsored Stories