Short-term funding to keep the government open through mid-November now moves to the US Senate, after a raucous House debate and nearly party-line 217-212 vote. KHJ News Washington DC correspondent Matt Kaye reports…
House Democrats blamed Republicans for earlier health care and nutrition cuts and voted in near lock step against a GOP stopgap bill to keep the government funded after September 30th.
The earlier cuts don’t affect American Samoa, but gave Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries an argument to oppose the GOP stopgap that would keep the lights on at Interior and other relevant Departments…
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Jeffries “Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Millions of Americans losing their health care, as a result of the Republican ‘One Big Ugly Bill.’ Hungry children have had food stolen from their mouths as a result of the ‘One Big Ugly Bill.’
Appropriations Chair Tom Cole countered, the stopgap bill had nothing to do with the president’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’…but only to give the House and Senate more time to work out differences on Interior, USDA, VA and other spending bills key for American Samoa.
The House Interior bill has a 900-thousand-dollar boost for ASG the Senate version, level funding at just over 28 (M) million.
Cole argued a shutdown didn’t work for Republicans in 2013 and won’t work now for Democrats…
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Cole “I think provoking a government shutdown is the wrong thing to do. You disagree? Vote ‘no.’ Take your privilege and shut down the government of the United States, something you have repeatedly condemned Republicans for when they did it, and rightly condemned them. But you’re doing the same thing, and you know it.”
Democrats tried to give themselves political cover by offering an alternative which was defeated, followed by the House passing the GOP stopgap that now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain.
The Senate Friday afternoon turned down 44-48 the House-passed stopgap funding bill, forcing Republicans to come up with a new plan to keep the government funded into the new fiscal year.
