Will the Government Shut Down Again in Feb?
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a short-term spending nib Thursday night to prevent a government shutdown that was set up to take place Saturday unless Congress acted.
Senators voted 65-27 to laissez passer the funding measure that will keep the government'southward lights on through March eleven. Lawmakers in both chambers are working to finalize a broader deal on a spending package for the fiscal year that ends Sept. xxx.
The House passed the curt-term bill, known as a continuing resolution, in a 272-162 vote last calendar week. President Joe Biden signed the measure out into law on Friday.
Senate leaders in both parties this calendar week repeatedly said there was no real risk of a shutdown. But a quartet of GOP senators had delayed quick passage of the pecker by enervating votes on central conservative priorities.
That infuriated senior Democrats who warned that the partisan infighting sent the incorrect message to the global customs — and to Russian President Vladimir Putin — at a critical moment when top U.S. officials are alert the Kremlin not to invade Ukraine.
"Everybody has the right to speak. Everybody has the right to make any kind of political point for any grouping they want. Just permit's talk about being U.S. senators! A war is about to start in Ukraine!" Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., thundered on the Senate flooring Thursday. "What we're saying is we will start putting all these things in to slow up a continuing resolution so the United States government can shut down tomorrow nighttime.
"Putin tin say, 'Why should I mind to them? Three or 4 people tin can go on their Senate floor and shut down the government.'"
The four GOP issues that delayed passage of the funding beak were all domestic in nature.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wanted a vote on a bill — too backed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. — to bar the Section of Health and Human Services from funding the distribution of crevice pipes. Biden administration officials say a $30 meg HHS program aimed at fighting the substance utilise and overdose epidemic doesn't pay for crevice pipes.
Rubio took to the floor Thursday to try to laissez passer the fissure-pipes legislation by a simple voice vote, merely Democrats objected.
Democrats also defeated iii amendments offered by conservative Republicans. The commencement, by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., would accept required the government to residuum its upkeep every twelvemonth.
Two other amendments focused on Covid-19 mandates. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, demanded a vote to strip out funding for the enforcement of all remaining federal vaccine mandates, while Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, got a vote on an amendment to block funding for schools and child care centers that require children to get Covid-19 vaccines.
"President Biden'south vaccine mandates are illegal. They have in significant part been struck down by the Supreme Courtroom. And they are abusive," said Cruz, a quondam Texas solicitor general who led the 2013 authorities shutdown in an unsuccessful bid to defund Obamacare.
"We are seeing piddling authoritarians who say, 'Mom, you don't have a right to determine whether or not your v-yr-old, your 6-year-onetime, your 7-year-onetime will get this vaccine," he added.
The filibuster, in part, was due to some Senate absences. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-North.M., is recovering from a stroke, though he tweeted Thursday he is now recovering in Washington. Sen. Marker Kelly, D-Ariz., had to travel dwelling house to Arizona to be with his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who is in the hospital for appendicitis. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was also attention to a family outcome.
Because of those missing lawmakers, Democrats worried that some of the GOP amendments might laissez passer in the 50-fifty Senate, where the party has zilch wiggle room. Then Democratic leaders stalled and waited until a handful of GOP senators left town on Th evening, ensuring Democrats had just enough votes to beat back the GOP proposals.
The Lee subpoena failed by merely a single vote, 46-47, while the Cruz amendment went down in a 44-49 vote.
For the overall spending bill, all 27 votes confronting the measure out came from Republicans.
Immediately after Thursday'due south votes, about a dozen senators rushed to grab a flight to the Munich Security Conference, which begins Friday and volition likely eye on escalating Russian aggression toward Ukraine.
CORRECTION (February. 17, 2022, 6:53 p.chiliad. ET): A previous version of this commodity misspelled the first proper noun of a senator from California. She is Dianne Feinstein, not Diane.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senators-scramble-avert-government-shutdown-friday-rcna16698
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