Senate Democrats Block GOP Spending Stopgap

Representative Tom Emmer, the third-ranking House Republican, said the House is moving on working on a full-year funding bill for the government now that chamber passed a stop-gap measure on a largely party-line vote.

Congress moved closer to an Oct. 1 government shutdown as Senate Democrats and Republicans on Friday each blocked the other party’s rival plans to provide temporary funding.

Democrats are demanding a boost to health care spending while Republicans refuse to go along and back a simple bill to keep the lights on through Nov. 21.

Resolving the conflict is complicated by the Senate’s plan to take a week-long break as the Oct. 1 funding lapse nears. The Senate could return to Washington as late as Sept. 29. The House plans to stay on recess until after Oct. 1.

Republican leaders hope Democrats will drop their demands and concede as the deadline nears rather than risk blame for a disruption in government services.

“The choice is pretty clear,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said just before the vote. “It’s going to be funding the government through a clean, short-term continuing resolution or it’s going to be a government shutdown. That’s the choice Democrats have.”

The Republican interim funding plan garnered 44 votes, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural obstacles in the Senate.

Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer put forward a rival plan to finance the government through Oct. 31 and that failed on a 47 to 45 vote. Thune called the proposal “unserious” in urging his members to unite in opposing it.

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