Senate Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Avoiding Government Shutdown for Now, but Challenges Remain

 The Senate passed a stopgap funding bill on Wednesday, avoiding a government shutdown for now. The bill has already been approved by the House and will be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. The current government funding is set to expire at the end of the week, on November 17. The bill, which passed with a vote of 87 to 11, extends funding until January 19 for priorities including military construction, veterans' affairs, transportation, housing, and the Energy Department. The rest of the government will be funded until February 2. However, this two-step approach to funding the government creates two new shutdown deadlines in January and February.

Lawmakers will now face the challenge of negotiating and passing full-year spending bills within the next two months. This task will be complicated by major partisan divisions, with House conservatives demanding deep spending cuts that Democrats reject. The newly elected House Speaker, Mike Johnson, will face a major leadership test as he navigates this challenge. Johnson has argued that his plan will prevent Congress from passing a massive spending bill in December, which has often been the case before winter holidays.

However, this short-term funding plan has sparked backlash from House conservatives who are unhappy with the lack of deep spending cuts. As a result, the bill required Democratic support to pass the House, with more House Democrats supporting the measure than Republicans. While Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted after a similar stopgap bill in September, many House Republicans believe Johnson will be spared the same fate. They argue that Johnson has inherited problems that were not of his own making. However, it remains to be seen how long the honeymoon period will last as conservative hardliners continue to push for their demands.

With the passing of this stopgap bill, the risk of an impending partial government shutdown has been averted. The bill received broad bipartisan support, which is rare in modern US politics. Democrats are pleased that it stuck to spending levels agreed upon with President Biden and did not include controversial provisions on abortion and other societal issues. The bill now provides just over two months of breathing room, with the next funding deadline set for January 19.

However, lawmakers will need to address other proposals, such as President Biden's request for $106 billion in aid for Israel, Ukraine, and US border security. The repeated fights over government funding have hindered progress on various other issues. In conclusion, the passing of this stopgap funding bill has temporarily prevented a government shutdown, but challenges lie ahead as lawmakers work towards negotiating and passing full-year spending bills. The bipartisan support for this bill provides a glimmer of hope for future negotiations, but partisan divisions and demands for deep spending cuts may continue to complicate the process.