White House Urges Congress To Act, Calls For Temporary Funding Measure To Avoid Government Shutdown

The White House urged Congress to approve short-term funding to forestall a possible government shutdown at the end of September.

What Happened: The White House, on Thursday, called on Congress to enact a temporary funding measure that will keep the federal government operational, CNBC reported. A U.S. Office of Management and Budget representative announced that a short-term continuing resolution is necessary within the coming month. This resolution aims to uphold the government’s current funding levels while negotiations on longer-term appropriation bills continue.

Government funding is set to expire on Sept. 30, necessitating swift action from Congress. However, the Republican-majority House of Representatives has only managed to pass one of the 12 necessary bills for government funding, according to Reuters.

Partisan differences continue as Republicans aim to enforce significant spending cuts, a move unlikely to be approved in the Democrat-led Senate.

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President Joe Biden earlier this month called for a stopgap measure to fund standard government programs and an additional $40 billion for various domestic and international policy challenges. During a visit to FEMA headquarters, Biden stressed the potential impact of a government shutdown, describing it as “a serious, serious problem.”

Why It Matters: Top figures from both parties, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have indicated their readiness for a continuing resolution. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to the ongoing budget negotiations as “a pretty big mess,” predicting a short-term congressional resolution as the probable result.

The call for short-term funding isn’t new. Earlier in August, McCarthy proposed a temporary funding solution. McCarthy’s proposal highlighted the challenge of finding a solution within the divided Congress ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

However, McCarthy’s plan faced opposition from the House Freedom Caucus. The group of conservative lawmakers presented a list of demands concerning the continuation resolution, putting pressure on GOP leaders.

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