Senate To Pass “Clean” Funding Bill To Delay Government Shutdown

In a week of posing, posturing, and preening, the senate is moving legislation to delay a government shutdown that is a practical admission of the situation at hand.
Punchbowl News:

We broke some news Tuesday evening that will serve as the blueprint for the next few days and will likely help avoid a government shutdown. However, it doesn’t resolve the growing partisan showdown over the debt limit, or do anything about internal Democratic feuding on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the massive reconciliation package.

In a bow to the inevitable, Senate Democrats are preparing to move a “clean” two-month funding bill today that will keep federal agencies open until Dec. 3. This bill, which is expected to get wide bipartisan support, doesn’t include any language on suspending the debt limit.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues on Monday blocked a continuing resolution with a provision that would suspend the debt limit until December 2022. McConnell is demanding that Democrats use the reconciliation process to pass a debt-limit increase using only Democratic votes.

The latest move by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should take the threat of a government shutdown off the table. Funding for federal agencies runs out at midnight Thursday. Senate Democrats were “hotlining” the CR on Tuesday night, meaning checking for objections from any senators to a vote today. If all goes as planned, the Senate will approve the bill and send it to the House. House leaders plan to take up the bill this afternoon if possible. The Congressional Baseball Game is tonight at 7 p.m., so that’s a potential scheduling problem. If needed, the House can consider it early Thursday and send it to President Joe Biden for a quick signature. That would end one of this week’s four major crises.

One quick note — the Senate funding package doesn’t include money for Iron Dome, Israel’s missile defense system. The $1 billion being sought for that program will have to go as a standalone bill (the House approved the funding last week) or be attached to some other measure.