Congress Leaders Agree To Stopgap Funding Bill, Averting Government Shutdown

Leaders in Congress have reached an agreement on a stopgap funding bill to keep government agencies from shutting down at the end of the month.

The deal fell into place over the weekend after the House GOP was unable to pass the plan favored by former President Donald Trump and the more conservative wing of the Republican conference.

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK4) played a significant role in working with Democrats to craft the short-term spending bill, also known as a continuing resolution (CR).

"Well, I think it’s the best deal that can be had," Cole said in an interview Monday in his office. "Look, it’s what I would call a pretty clean CR."

In legislative parlance, ‘clean’ simply means that the continuing resolution has nothing — or at least nothing controversial — attached to it. In fact, Cole says, the only 'extra' in this CR is $231 million to help the Secret Service better protect the presidential candidates.

"I don’t think it’s a money issue, but I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Cole said, “and i don’t want to gamble with the life of anybody that’s running for president."

The CR would extend current year funding through December 20, giving the current Congress time, during the lame duck session following the election, to finalize appropriations for the remainder of FY 2025.

"Well, it just continues the status quo of $2 trillion deficit spending on an annual basis," said Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK2) in an interview Monday afternoon.

Congressman Brecheen says this is leading to the very thing he fears the most, a massive Christmastime omnibus spending deal.

"I will not vote in support of the CR,” Rep. Brecheen said, but I'm still holding out hope--there's some signs coming out of the Speaker's office that tells me they're not willing to surrender to an omnibus."

In a letter to the GOP conference, Spealer Mike Johnson (R-LA) said this CR was not his preference, but that “…shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice.

Congressman Cole agrees: “I never make any bones about it, shutting down the government is stupid politics because it’s bad for the American people."

Look for the bill to pass the House with bipartisan support by midweek and then get through the Senate, also with bipartisan support, sometime before the October 1 deadline.ca