On September 30, 2023, The House of Representatives passed a stopgap funding bill in an effort to prevent a government shutdown and give the House more time to agree on new funding legislation for the government’s next fiscal year.
Despite already being in the new fiscal year, Democrats and Republicans have failed to make an agreement on the government’s new spending budget. A major disagreement among the parties is from the ongoing debate of whether or not the US should be involved in the Ukraine war.
According to pewresearch.org, 57% of Republicans disagree with the way the Biden administration has handled the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, only 16% of Democrats disagree with the way the war is being handled.
This major disagreement (along with many others) has led to a standstill between the two parties. But what Americans are finding to be even more concerning is the increasing possibility of a government shutdown.
“Let me be clear on one thing: Every single day that we wait and we get closer to October 1, that is giving more leverage to the administration,” said Republican representative Garret Graves, “It’s taking away leverage from House Republicans.”
Even though the stopgap funding bill bought congress a bit more time, they still have a lot of work to do. The House has also impeached its former speaker: Kevin McCarthy. Unfortunately, this could result in the postponing for a concrete decision for the federal budget. While names like Steve Scalice and Jim Jordan have been brought up, it will still take some time to elect a new speaker.
“It’s been messy,” said Republican representative Kelly Armstrong, “It’s been raucous. And, at times, it’s been chaotic.”
Whether this process will be quick or gradual remains to be seen. However, many in congress seem eager to get back to helping the American people.
“Right now my sole focus is on getting our single subject spending bills passed,” said Republican representative Matt Gaetz, “The House of Representatives can pass single subject spending bills, we will not pass a continuing resolution on terms that continue America’s decline.”
