{"id":1508180,"date":"2024-12-16T15:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1508180"},"modified":"2024-12-16T15:25:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T20:25:00","slug":"congress-scrambles-to-avoid-friday-government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/congress-scrambles-to-avoid-friday-government-shutdown\/1508180\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Scrambles To Avoid Friday Government Shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congress Scrambles To Avoid Friday Government Shutdown<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Congress has until Friday to avert yet another government shutdown with a game of kick-the-can (via Continuing Resolution, or CR), and a bipartisan funding deal is nowhere in sight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s where things stand; though no one expects the lights to actually go out in Washington, this week is shaping up to be a political circus. <\/strong><\/p>\n

According to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a CR is “moving along, almost there,” while Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said “it’s getting close to being closed out,” and “hopefully” we’ll see text today, Punchbowl News<\/em>‘ Jake Sherman reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

JOHNSON started the House Republican Steering Committee meeting late. He said he was tied up with last-minute CR negotiations.<\/p>\n

So, the leadership still hasn’t wrapped the CR, which needs to be passed by both chambers by Friday.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 16, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

Farm Bill Face-Off<\/h3>\n

The latest snag? A fight over economic assistance for farmers as part of a one-year extension to the farm bill<\/strong>. Originally, this was supposed to be a straightforward swap: redirect some Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds toward direct aid for farmers. But Johnson slammed the brakes, wary of touching IRA funds and ruffling feathers with President-elect Donald Trump<\/strong>, who has made dismantling the legislation a priority.<\/p>\n

Sensing blood in the water, Democrats pounced. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rolled out a wishlist of demands<\/strong> in exchange for their cooperation, including:<\/p>\n

\u2013 The federal government would pay 100% of the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore<\/strong>. This could run to $2 billion or more.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 A trade deal that would allow duty-free access for Haitian apparel and textile imports.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which permits duty-free imports for hundreds of products from sub-Saharan African countries.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Funding to build museums on the National Mall to honor women and Hispanics.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 The Second Chance Act, which aims to help the reentry of convicted criminals back into communities.<\/em> –Punchbowl News<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Also hanging in the balance is a sweeping health deal that would overhaul pharmacy benefit managers, extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities, and reauthorize the SUPPORT Act<\/a> – a 2018 measure to address the opioid crisis. The pressure is on for Johnson to strike a deal, but he\u2019s caught between pleasing Democrats and keeping his own party in line.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Running out of time<\/h3>\n

Johnson is running out of time to act… If Congress plans to release the funding bill today, the House won\u2019t vote until Thursday<\/strong>, sticking to a 72-hour review rule. That leaves the Senate just enough time to pull off some of its famous “magic” and send the package to President Biden\u2019s desk before the buzzer.<\/p>\n

But Johnson\u2019s problems go beyond logistics. He\u2019s made it his mission to avoid the usual end-of-year \u201cChristmas tree\u201d legislation loaded with pork.<\/strong> Now, he\u2019s staring down a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government only until March, packed with goodies from every corner of Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

Johnson is banking on Democrats to help push the CR through<\/strong>, but the move could spark a rebellion among House Republicans. Expect fiery floor speeches and plenty of finger-pointing as Johnson fights to keep his party\u2014and his speakership\u2014intact.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans and Trump have little appetite for a shutdown,<\/strong> preferring a smooth path into 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nMon, 12\/16\/2024 – 10:25<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/congress-scrambles-avoid-friday-government-shutdown<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congress Scrambles To Avoid Friday Government Shutdown Congress has until Friday to avert yet another government shutdown with a game of kick-the-can (via Continuing Resolution,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1508181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1508180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1508180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1508180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1508180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1508181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1508180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1508180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1508180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}