We are pushing the envelope once again on keeping the government funded. Today is the last day of the operating budget. If a budget or an extension isn?t signed by the President by the end of the day, the government will enter another shutdown.
This would be a perfect storm going into a Presidential election in November. It would be political fodder for both parties to try and gain the upper hand. Of course, those caught in the middle of the fighting would again be the American people. Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, or something in between; a government shutdown is bad for us all.
Last week the House of Representatives, after much debate and wrangling, passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through December 11th. This agreement was between House and Senate leadership, the President, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The debate became contentious over the funding of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a USDA fund that provides financing for farm bill provisions and nutrition programs.
It is now up to the Senate.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley talked about the need to pass the continuing resolution and get it to President Trump?s desk. The hope was to get it passed yesterday, but that was not the case. However, by the close of the day, the Senate did pass cloture on the topic. This means they set a time limit on or ended debate on the topic for the sake of brevity. That sets the stage for a vote today in the 11th hour. Many political experts agree that the cloture vote almost assures the resolution will pass the upper chamber of Congress and head to the President?s desk.
Senator Grassley says that he is happy that the House Leadership saw the need to include CCC funding in their bill. He praised Republican colleagues for the work they had done.
Also, Senator Grassley is concerned because the Continuing Resolution would reauthorize the current Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting rules. Grassley was hoping to get a change to that with his cattle pricing legislation. Grassley is doubtful whether his bill will get to the Senate floor before the end of this Congress, but he plans to continue to fight for it.
To avoid a government shutdown, the President must sign the stop-gap spending bill into law before midnight.
