Civic Register
| 1.17.18

Congress Races to Avoid Partial Government Shutdown

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Lawmakers have until 11:59:59pm ET on Friday night to pass legislation that keeps the government funded beyond that deadline or a partial government shutdown will occur. On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee met to prep a bill to do that and more for debate in Congress this week.

The bill would keep the government open through February 16 and reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years. It would also delay the implementation of Obamacare’s tax on medical devices, health insurers, and the so-called "Cadillac tax" that applies to high-cost employer provided plans.

The four weeks of funding would in theory buy time for lawmakers to reach a bipartisan deal on government funding levels for the next two years. Those talks have has been held up by the ongoing negotiations over a solution for the so-called Dreamers prior to the expiration of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in early March, which Democrats have deemed necessary for their support of a budget deal.

Congressional leaders face a challenge in finding the votes to pass the stopgap measure. House conservatives have argued that Congress should provide the rest of fiscal year 2018’s defense spending now. Democrats have threatened to withhold their support as a DACA deal, let alone a broader immigration agreement, has eluded Congress thus far. And some lawmakers, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are just tired of voting on short-term funding bills.

If all that sounds familiar, that’s because those issues were the sticking points when Congress approved its last short-term funding bill on December 21. Then, House Republicans managed to pass the funding bill on a 231-188 vote without the initial support of Democrats, 14 of whom voted in favor once it was clear the legislation would pass. The Senate passed the bill on a 66-32 vote, with 17 Democrats voting in favor and two Republicans opposed.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said on Fox News that Republicans appear to have the votes they need to pass the stopgap funding bill:

The House is expected to bring the bill to the floor for a vote Thursday in order to give the Senate time to vote prior to Friday night’s deadline.

What happens in a government shutdown?

First of all, it would be a partial government shutdown, so it’s not as if the entire federal government would be shuttered. The military and federal law enforcement agencies would continue to do their job, and entitlement payments to Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries would still go out as usual.

Federal workers who are considered non-essential would be furloughed, meaning that they can’t work, although they have in the past received back pay following shutdowns. During the 2013 shutdown more than 818,000 federal workers were furloughed, which caused national parks to be closed and agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency to operate with only a small number of employees. Whether workers will be furloughed also depends on the status of an agency’s budget, as the State Dept. and Securities and Exchange Commission remained at full staff longer than other agencies during the last shutdown because of the funding they had leftover.

Tell your reps whether you think Congress should pass the short-term funding bill that reauthorizes CHIP for six years using the Take Action button!

— Eric Revell

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(Photo Credit: Willard / iStock)