Congress Looks to Avert Preelection Shutdown When It Returns in September

When Congress reconvenes on Sept. 9, it will have just 15 days to pass a bill averting a government shutdown at the end of the month—an outcome that looks far from certain.

Fiscal Year 2024 will expire on Sept. 30, as will the government funding that was authorized for it in March.

To keep the government running, both houses of Congress normally need to pass identical versions of 12 “appropriations” bills that fund different federal departments and agencies.

However, Congress is nowhere close to passing these 12 bills.

The Republican-led House passed only five bills before breaking for its weeks-long summer recess, while the Democrat-led Senate has not passed any of them.

Moreover, each house has proposed different versions of these bills, meaning that none are likely to pass until negotiations between the Senate and House—a process known as “conferencing”—occur to get consensus text.

Related Stories

Given the short timeframe, it’s widely accepted that Congress will have to pass a temporary funding bill, known as a Continuing Resolution, or CR, to avert a shutdown at the end of the month.

CRs merely prolong funding at levels set by the previous fiscal year’s appropriations and do not normally authorize any new spending.

They have been used every year since 1997, given Congress’s regular inability to meet the appropriations deadlines.

This year, however, the composition and length of such a CR are provoking partisan divisions.

If these are not resolved by the deadline, they may prevent both houses from passing the bill on time.

The bill would prevent states from registering voters for federal elections without proof of U.S. citizenship and give private citizens the right to sue state officials for non-compliance.

Former President Donald Trump has recommended the SAVE Act’s passage, claiming that it is necessary to stop foreign nationals and illegal immigrants from unlawfully voting in federal elections—to whom he attributes his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

“Get tough … Speaker Johnson,” Trump said, addressing House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Republicans are demanding that the SAVE Act be included in the CR to prevent noncitizen voting in the 2024 presidential election, which is scheduled to occur on Nov. 5, while early voting in some states begins this month.

Johnson, on July 10, brought the SAVE Act to a standalone vote in the House, where it passed 221–198, with five Democrats voting in favor.

The Biden administration released a statement opposing its passage, though it unusually did not include a vow that President Joe Biden would veto the bill.

House Republicans now want to include the SAVE Act in the CR to make it difficult for the Senate to reject, given the shutdown risk.

“I would at least pass a continuing resolution with the SAVE Act and go jam that down the Democrats’ throats,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the SAVE Act’s author and policy chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Epoch Times in August.

Roy believes that Johnson is likely to support a CR that includes the SAVE Act, which he previously endorsed.

“Will we attach [the SAVE Act] to a funding mechanism in September? Mike Johnson appears ready and willing to do it, and that’s where we currently sit,” Roy said in a statement shared by his office with The Epoch Times.

Some Senate Republicans agree.

“It’d be nice to put the SAVE Act in there,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told The Epoch Times when asked about the bill.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the proposal to include the SAVE Act “very worthwhile.”

It’s uncertain whether Senate Democrats will reject a CR with the SAVE Act, which will need at least 60 votes to clear a filibuster.

However, House Democrats whipped votes against the bill on ideological concerns, which are likely to be shared by progressive senators.

Morelle is the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, which oversees elections.

“This bill would especially burden military voters, tribal voters, rural voters, survivors of natural disasters, and the tens of millions of married women in America who have changed their names,” he said.

“It is designed to jam people up and to prevent Americans from voting.”

As a result of this opposition, some Senate Republicans want a “clean CR” that excludes the SAVE Act.

“I would like a clean CR. That’s always the best way to go,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told The Epoch Times.

Neither Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer nor Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have publicly stated whether they oppose the SAVE Act’s inclusion.

The Timeline

Beyond the SAVE Act, the length of the CR is also under contention.

CRs of the past normally lasted a few weeks, with the expectation that Congress would quickly finish negotiating the permanent spending bills.

However, such a short timeline appears unlikely, and the exact length of the CR could have political repercussions.

The parties virtually agree that the CR’s expiry date will occur after the general election on Nov. 5.

Both houses, in any case, will recess on Oct. 1 for six weeks, until Veterans’ Day (Nov. 11), in order to campaign.

However, Republicans appear to be aiming for a longer CR that runs into March of 2025.

“I’d rather [the CR] go clear into March in hopes that former President Trump wins the election and then has a chance to put his fingerprints on legislation,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) told The Epoch Times.

“We’ll fund the government into March,” read Roy’s statement. “We’re going to give [government spending] to President Trump’s administration to fix.”

Schumer has declined to take a clear position on a timeline.

“We’ll see how the negotiation goes,” he told The Epoch Times.

Johnson’s and Schumer’s offices did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.