US Senate, House hold procedural votes as partial government shutdown looms

Published Sep 28, 2023 05:02AM ET Updated Sep 28, 2023 09:47AM ET
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
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By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -With a partial shutdown of the U.S. government just three days away, the Democratic-controlled Senate plans a procedural vote on Thursday on a bipartisan short term spending measure that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has rejected.
The House is set to continue voting on amendments to four appropriations bills that have no chance of becoming law, and would not alone prevent a shutdown even if they did.
Congress must pass legislation that Democratic President Joe Biden can sign into law by midnight Saturday (0400 GMT on Sunday) to avoid furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and halting a wide range of services, from economic data releases to nutrition benefits, for the fourth time in the last decade.
House Republicans, led by a small faction of far right members in the chamber they control by a 221-212 margin, have rejected spending levels for fiscal year 2024 set in a deal McCarthy negotiated with Biden in May.
The agreement included $1.59 trillion in discretionary spending in fiscal 2024. House Republicans are demanding another $120 billion in cuts, plus tougher legislation that would stop the flow of immigrants at the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
The funding fight focuses on a relatively small slice of the $6.4 trillion U.S. budget for this fiscal year. Lawmakers are not considering cuts to popular benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
McCarthy is facing intense pressure from his caucus to achieve their goals. Several hardliners have threatened to oust McCarthy from his leadership role if he passes a spending bill that requires any Democratic votes to pass.