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THE
TAKE
Disputes within the fractious House of Representatives
Republican majority have prevented that chamber from voting on a
stopgap funding measure known as a continuing resolution, or CR.
If House Republicans fail to start that process in time, Senate
Democrats could pass a bill of their own, which would need House
approval, to head off the fourth partial government shutdown in
a decade.
CONTEXT
* Congress has not yet finished with the 12 appropriations bills
it needs to pass to fund the government through Sept. 30.
* It passed a temporary funding bill on Sept. 30 to give it more
time, but shortly afterward, a small group of House hardliners
ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the deal, kicking off a
three-week leadership fight that ended in the election of
Republican Mike Johnson on Oct. 25.
* The two parties do not agree on a topline 2024 spending
figure. Democratic President Joe Biden and McCarthy in May set a
$1.59 trillion discretionary spending budget, but hardline
Republicans have pushed for an additional $120 billion in cuts.
* The United States recorded a nearly $1.7 trillion deficit in
its most recent fiscal year, its largest since a budget gap
fueled by the COVID pandemic.
WHAT'S NEXT
* Democrats and Republicans in both chambers will continue
negotiations on finding a path forward ahead of the deadline, in
the hopes of averting a shutdown.
(Reporting by Makini Brice and Katharine Jackson; Editing by
Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
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