The House and the Senate aren’t back in town until Tuesday night in observance of Yom Kippur. When the House gets back, lawmakers won’t consider a bill to avert a shutdown temporarily, known as a continuing resolution, or CR. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is hoping progress on four appropriations bills will buy enough goodwill to pass a CR [Continuing Resolution] in his conference. They include the defense and agriculture funding bills — which some Republicans have blocked in the past — as well as the homeland security and State Department funding bills. Such a strategy is unlikely to prevent a government shutdown starting Oct. 1.

When the Senate gets back Tuesday, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) will try to pass a CR to keep the government open until November or December. The details of the Senate CR are still being hammered out, including exploring options to fund Ukraine so that it’s not a supplemental as a way to ease some Republican concerns, according to two people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations. but the Senate’s strategy could run into a dead end in the House. Even if the Senate sends the House a CR this week, McCarthy is unlikely to bring it up for a vote, multiple Republican aides said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party dynamics and conversations. “I don’t think he could” put a Senate CR on the floor, one House Republican aide said. It would not pass with just Republican votes, and relying on Democrats could cost McCarthy his job.

But Republicans who are contemplating partnering with Democrats to sign on to a discharge petition dismiss the accusations from some on the right that it would be a betrayal, according to multiple people present for a conference meeting last week where the issue was discussed. They note that the hard-right members have already violated McCarthy’s guidelines by taking down three rules in as many months. All House Democrats have already signed it. Just five Republicans are needed to sign on to force it to the floor — if no Democrats remove their names. Unfortunately for advocates of the strategy, a discharge petition is complicated procedurally. Just two have become law. And there’s no way to bring a discharge petition to the floor before Oct. 1.

Once a discharge petition has 218 signatures, House rules dictate that the lawmakers who signed it must wait seven legislative days before one of them can move forward. Then the lawmaker can call up the discharge motion “at a time or place, designated by the Speaker, in the legislative schedule within two legislative days after the day on which a Member whose signature appears thereon announces to the House an intention to offer the motion.”

The president and members of Congress will continue to work and get paid. However, any members of their staff who are not deemed essential will be furloughed. The judiciary will be able to continue to operate for a limited time using funds derived from court filings and other fees, as well as other approved funding.

Notably, funding for the three special counsels appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland would not be affected by a government shutdown because they are paid for through a permanent, indefinite appropriation, an area that’s been exempted from shutdowns in the past. That means the two federal cases against Donald Trump, the former president, as well as the case against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, would not be interrupted. Trump has demanded that Republicans defund the prosecutions against him as a condition of funding the government, declaring it their “last chance” to act.

Millions of federal workers face delayed paychecks when the government shuts down, including many of the roughly 2 million military personnel and more than 2 million civilian workers across the nation. Nearly 60% of federal workers are stationed in the department of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security. Federal workers are stationed in all 50 states and have direct interaction with taxpayers -- from Transportation Security Administration agents who operate security at airports to Postal Service workers who deliver mail. Some federal offices will also have to close or face shortened hours during a shutdown.

Prior to the 1980s, lapses in government funding did not result in government operations significantly shuttering. But then-U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti [in the Carter administration], in a series of legal opinions in 1980 and 1981, argued that government agencies cannot legally operate during a funding gap. Federal officials have since operated under an understanding they can make exemptions for functions that are “essential” for public safety and constitutional duties. Since 1976, there have been 22 funding gaps, with 10 of them leading to workers being furloughed. But most of the significant shutdowns have taken place since Bill Clinton’s presidency, when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich and his conservative House majority demanded budget cuts. The longest government shutdown happened between 2018 and 2019 when then-President Trump and congressional Democrats entered a standoff over his demand for funding for a border wall. The disruption lasted 35 days, through the holiday season, but was also only a partial government shutdown because Congress had passed some appropriations bills to fund parts of the government.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is reportedly embracing drastic measures to avoid a government shutdown, including a massive 70 percent cut to a program that provides assistance to lower income families who have trouble affording heat during the winter.

The Washington Post reports that McCarthy has decided to push through a number of cuts demanded by far-right members of his caucus with the hopes of getting enough votes to avoid a shutdown of the House over a spending bill – despite the fact that the proposed cuts would likely be doomed in the United States Senate.

In addition to the aforementioned cuts to home heating, the Post reports that the plan being put forth by Republicans also calls "for a roughly 80 percent cut to funding for schools that serve high concentrations of students in poverty," and would also "cut by at least half a fruit and vegetable benefit for poor pregnant mothers, which serves roughly 5 million people." There would also be "multibillion cuts to the National Institutes of Health, Head Start, and preschool grants."

Even with all this, it's unclear if there would be enough votes for McCarthy to pass these drastic reductions, as Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) have already said such cuts are not sufficient, reports the Post.

In addition to demanding cuts for programs benefiting low-income families, hardliners in the GOP caucus have also demanded that Congress defund special counsel Jack Smith's office, which is currently running two different criminal cases against former President Donald Trump.

BearPaws wrote: Tue Sep 26, 2023 7:46 pm My MIL was watching news reports about this yesterday (Monday) morning, and is worried. My FIL is retired career Air Force, and she is worried that his monthly pension money will be interrupted. He has home health aids that come three times a week, and she's worried about that continuing.

She and my FIL have always voted against their best interests (GOP all the way...), in part due to their religious background. Our Roku "doesn't receive Fox News where we live."

Thirteen months or so ago, my wife and I moved into a bigger house with her parents. Both are dealing with age-related memory issues, and it would be inhumane (to say nothing of the expense) to put them in the assisted living/nursing home/funeral home sewer pipeline.

We are fortunate: we will be able to ride out a couple weeks of the GFP (Greedy Fascist Party) shitshow. The effect on the nation's economy is going to be awful. The GFP wants to pin the blame on Biden, but every voter with a brain recognizes that fault lies at the feet of the GFP. One hopes the party loses BIG in '23 and '24, but with the gerrymandering they already have in place, who knows?

Republican Funding Bill Flops In House As Shutdown Nears

WASHINGTON — Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against their own funding bill on Friday, essentially failing to even try to fund the government with a shutdown looming on Sunday.

Twenty-one Republicans joined Democrats to sink the bill on a 198-232 vote.

Even if it had passed, the Republican bill would have had no chance of passing the Senate, which is working on its own bill to keep the government open past Saturday. But the House bill’s failure showed striking disunity among House Republicans and the difficulty Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will face remaining as leader of his party.

featureless wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 4:25 pm This country has become a fucking circus act. What a joke our leadership is. People? Fuck 'em. We've got agendas to grandstand! Absolutely sickening.

sikacz wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 5:03 pm Unfortunately my only solution is to drink!

featureless wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 5:43 pm

sikacz wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 5:03 pm Unfortunately my only solution is to drink!

As a former competitive drinker (but somehow not an addict), have one for me. Hell, make it two!

Thanks you all for providing a safe space to discuss and vent. I'm so extremely frustrated with the state of things right now. Blessed with a healthy wife who loves me and a daughter independently trying to figure her shit out (so glad I'm not 20 anymore). So, fuck 'em! I've got it all.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Senate Republicans will vote against advancing the chamber’s bipartisan stopgap spending bill as members see an emerging bill coming from the House as the main way to avoid a government shutdown. McConnell told reporters that the House bill, which is a 45-day continuing resolution that includes disaster aid funding but no money for Ukraine, is the preferred option of his members, and that they will overwhelmingly vote against cloture in order to focus on that option.

Shortly after McConnell’s remarks, that bill passed the House in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 335-91 vote and heads to the Senate. “I’m fairly confident that most of my members — our members — are going to vote against cloture,” McConnell said. “Not necessarily because they are opposed to the underlying bill. But to see what the House can do on a bipartisan basis, and then bring it over to us.” “Under these circumstances, I’m recommending a ‘no’ vote,” McConnell continued. “Even though I very much want to avoid a government shutdown.”/quote]https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/423 ... m=referral

The 45 day extension bill passed in the House will get walked across to the Senate and get voted on there. Hopefully a shutdown will be averted again.

Sen John Fetterman (D-Pa.), however, pointed out that the Republicans could force a similar crisis again on November 17 when the stopgap agreement expires.

"I voted at 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, that’s my job. But the American people should never have to worry about their government shutting down," Fetterman posted on social media. "Pushing the snooze button solves nothing, because these same losers will try to pull the same shit in 45 days."

sig230 wrote: Sun Oct 01, 2023 8:56 am What would help would be a public commitment for Democratic Representatives to cancel out EVERY vote from EVERY member of the Let's be Stupid Crowd.

The Speaker position is determined by a majority vote of Representatives in attendance.

The Democratic Representatives need to make it clear that the Let's Be Stupid Crowd's votes are simply irrelevant from this moment on.

Results on the choice of Speaker and on EVERY other issue will be determined by the majority will of the Let's Be Sane Crowd and as of this moment no vote from any member of the Let's be Stupid Crowd will have any effect on an outcome.

F4FEver wrote: Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:04 am

sig230 wrote: Sun Oct 01, 2023 8:56 am What would help would be a public commitment for Democratic Representatives to cancel out EVERY vote from EVERY member of the Let's be Stupid Crowd.

The Speaker position is determined by a majority vote of Representatives in attendance.

The Democratic Representatives need to make it clear that the Let's Be Stupid Crowd's votes are simply irrelevant from this moment on.

Results on the choice of Speaker and on EVERY other issue will be determined by the majority will of the Let's Be Sane Crowd and as of this moment no vote from any member of the Let's be Stupid Crowd will have any effect on an outcome.

The short term resolution was passed with moderate GOP and Dems. The gang od 20 voted against it/ They even voted against the GOP proposal. McCarthy didn't support it, n=because if he did, the gang id 20 would have removed him..THE GQP is disfunctional...as was evidenced by the impeachment investigation..which showed how gooned up the likes of Gym Jordan and his clown car is.

As descibed,
"The charitable view is that the first hearing was a dumpster fire inside a clown car wrapped in a fiasco. The GOP didn't bring their best."

By all means, sit out the next election and let these MAGA(t)s run things..brilliant.

highdesert wrote: Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:01 am The games political parties play, they are very much alike. The last government shutdown was because Democrats wouldn't pass funding for Trump's border wall. Both parties play the shutdown game. To get rid of Republicans in Congress you have to get rid of those red states that think differently than blue states, that's talking civil war. In a democracy people are allowed to think differently.