Congress will leave DC for October. Can it avoid a government shutdown?

Sept. 30 is a very important day in Washington, D.C., for two reasons: it is when Congress is set to leave for the entire month of October so lawmakers can campaign, and it is also the deadline to approve government funding. The new federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1, so the government will shut down if Congress does not pass a spending bill by then. 

Lawmakers have three weeks to make this happen, and they are not off to a great start.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wants the House to vote on a continuing resolution that would fund the government until March 28, 2025. That kicks the can down the road for six months, after a new Congress and president are sworn in. 

The vote is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 11, but it appears dead on arrival. 

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, N.Y., called the proposal extreme and unacceptable. 

“Last spring, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, reached negotiated funding levels for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and agreed not to include partisan policy changes in any appropriations legislation,” Jeffires wrote in a letter to his colleagues. “Despite the existence of a previously agreed upon spending framework, extreme MAGA Republicans have decided to abandon their commitment to the American people in order to enact Trump’s Project 2025 agenda.” 

Senate Democrats also oppose Johnson’s bill. 

“Avoiding a government shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party,” they said in a statement. “Speaker Johnson is making the same mistake as former Speaker McCarthy did a year ago, by wasting precious time catering to the hard MAGA right.” 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described the negative impacts of a continuing resolution on the military.

“A six-month CR would set us significantly behind in meeting our pacing challenge highlighted in our National Defense Strategy – the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” Austin wrote in a statement. “The PRC is the only global competitor with both the intent and capability to change the international order. The PRC does not operate under CRs.”

Democrats want a three-month spending bill that deals with measures including the upcoming debt ceiling deadline on Jan. 1.

So what does Johnson’s proposal do? 

• It funds the government mostly at current levels through March. 
• It provides an extra $12 billion for the VA and $2 billion for building Virginia Class submarines.
• It includes a provision that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

Because Democrats and Republicans are so far apart, if past is prologue, Congress will likely approve a clean CR that keeps everything exactly as it is now, at the last minute.