OAN’s Brooke Mallory
12:25 PM – Wednesday, September 27, 2023
A “clean” Continuing Resolution (CR) that would finance the government through November 17th was issued on Tuesday by senators in the Democrat-controlled Senate in an effort to avoid a government shutdown by Saturday.
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On Tuesday afternoon, the CR passed a crucial procedural test in the upper chamber by a vote of 77 to 19, closing the discussion of the proposal and paving the way for a final vote.
“All through the weekend – night and day – Senate Democrats and Republicans worked in good faith to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution that will keep the government funded and avert a shutdown,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), said in a statement Tuesday.
$6.2 billion of the short-term CR will be allotted to Ukraine and President Joe Biden had initially proposed an extra $18 billion on top of the $6.2 billion. Additionally, natural disaster funding received an extra $6 billion.
Similar to the House version, the CR does not include any new funds for border security.
By the end of the fiscal year, on September 30th, the House and Senate must reach some sort of agreement on how to fund the government, or face a partial shutdown.
It is uncertain how far the Senate’s CR will go without the unanimous support of the upper house.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has already stated that he will oppose any budget fix that includes assistance for Ukraine, potentially delaying the approval of the CR.
“I will oppose any effort to hold the federal government hostage for Ukraine funding, I will not consent to expedited passage of any spending measure that provides any more US aid to Ukraine,” Rand posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
However, the proposed CR from the Senate is far different from the one from the GOP-led House, where House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested that aid to Ukraine should be a standalone package and that the House might not vote on the Senate-authored CR.
McCarthy made his remarks following a crucial vote on Tuesday night to move forward with four appropriations measures for the next year. The chamber will shortly vote on a short-term spending package.
“The Republicans will put on the floor a move to secure our border. I think that’s the appropriate way to be able to keep government funded, secure border while we continue to keep government open to work on the rest of the appropriations process,” McCarthy told reporters.
On Tuesday, Schumer said, “We are now right at the precipice” on the Senate floor. “This bipartisan CR is a temporary solution, a bridge towards cooperation and away from extremism,” he continued. “And it will allow us to keep working to fully fund the federal government and spare American families the pain of a shutdown.”
“We are eager to provide relief to communities recovering from natural disasters from Hawaii, to Florida, and bipartisan majorities recognize the ongoing need to counter Russia and China and continue to provide lethal aid to Ukraine,” Schumer concluded.
The House is slated to discuss four different spending measures. Whether McCarthy had obtained enough votes to advance them is still unclear. He can only afford to lose a few more GOP votes.
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