The US Capitol in Washington, DC, August 16, 2023.
Kevin Wurm | Reuters
WASHINGTON – The White House on Thursday urged Congress to pass short-term measures to fund the federal government and avoid a government shutdown at the end of September.
A spokesman for the Office of the Management and Budget said a short-term follow-up resolution would be needed next month to keep government funding at current levels while negotiations on the long-term appropriations bill continue.
Federal funding is expected to dry up on Sept. 30 unless action is taken by Congress. With a month to go before the deadline, the Republican-led House of Representatives has passed just one of the 12 bills needed to raise money for the government, according to Reuters.
Gulfs between the two parties remain deep, with Republicans seeking to implement massive spending cuts that are unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden requested a stopgap measure and an additional $40 billion to cover standard government programs. Of this, $24 billion will go to Ukraine and other foreign policy issues, nearly $4 billion to border and immigration issues, and $12 billion to disaster relief to boost federal aid. Emergency Management Agency.
Biden visited FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to highlight the impact of the shutdown on government agencies and to warn against the shutdown.
“It’s going to be a serious, serious problem,” Biden said.
Leaders from both parties expressed a positive attitude towards the ongoing resolution. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed support for the idea earlier this month.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that the current budget negotiations were “pretty chaotic”.
“We’re having trouble figuring out exactly what the level of government spending will be, so we’ll probably end up with a short-term congressional resolution until December,” McConnell said.
