US House Agrees on Temporary Government Funding Bill

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Facts

  • Leaders in the Republican-majority US House on Sunday announced a bipartisan deal to fund the government through Dec. 20, avoiding a shutdown that was scheduled to begin Sept. 30.[1]
  • House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed the plan Sunday to his colleagues in a letter. The House is expected to vote on it Wednesday.[1]
  • The bill doesn't include the SAVE Act, a provision that would require proof-of-citizenship to vote and was the reason for the defeat of a previous funding bill earlier this month. The SAVE Act is a priority for former Pres. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.[2]
  • The bill is also missing $10B the earlier version provided for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief funding. But in addition to keeping the government running for three months, the bill allots $231M in additional funding to the Secret Service — a priority since Trump has been the target of two assassination attempts in recent months.[3]
  • Assuming this bill becomes law, Congress will face a December deadline to again fund the government in addition to a Jan. 1 deadline to decide whether to raise the US' debt ceiling or face defaulting on federal government debt.[4]

Sources: [1]USA Today, [2]Daily Mail, [3]CNN and [4]US News & World Report.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by NBC. It's irresponsible — and dangerous — to ever shut down the government. It's even more ill-advised prior to an election when the politics could harm who gets blamed. In this case, Republicans will be cast as the villains. If anything, Republicans should support pushing this issue into next year, so the next presidential administration can decide how to fund the government.
  • Conservative narrative, as provided by X.com and X.com. Johnson has surrendered his conservative values to the Democrats and will now allow them to go ahead with their plot to unleash thousands of illegal voters in the upcoming election. It's common sense to ensure only American citizens can vote, but Democrats are willing to let the government shut down rather than implement this necessary security provision that was in the previous spending bill.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. It's great to see mainstream Republicans have come to their senses and be willing to go forward with a bill to fund the government without the SAVE Act. That act is just another Trump scare tactic, as the former president has offered a baseless claim to fire up his base and possibly suppress the votes of those who oppose him. Hopefully, Republicans will continue to stand up to Trump.

Predictions