“House Freedom Caucus Members Threaten Shutdown Over Spending Cuts, Testing Bipartisanship”

The return of Congress brings with it looming spending battles and a pressing deadline to prevent a government shutdown. While the Senate has already resumed its sessions and earned praise from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for bipartisan efforts on spending compromises, the House is bracing for a more contentious showdown over government funding.

Officially, government funding is set to expire on September 30, but the House has a mere 11 working days to pass a short-term funding extension, commonly referred to as a continuing resolution. This extension is vital to provide lawmakers the necessary time to negotiate the specifics of a comprehensive spending package.

The brewing storm centers largely in the House, where a group of staunchly conservative lawmakers from the House Freedom Caucus has preemptively drawn a line in the sand. They are openly threatening to use a government shutdown as leverage unless the continuing resolution includes substantial spending cuts or addresses their other demands, including increased border security.

It’s worth noting that the demands put forth by House Freedom Caucus members have slim chances of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Schumer, aware of the challenges, urged House Republicans to follow the Senate’s example and engage in genuine, bipartisan negotiations to avert a shutdown.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, three of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government have been queued up for a vote this week, highlighting a different approach compared to the House.

However, hard-right lawmakers in the House, a group that extends beyond the Freedom Caucus, are making substantial demands of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. They are proposing that, in exchange for their support in preventing a shutdown, the House should hold a vote on an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, a proposal that has encountered resistance from some moderate Republicans.

Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina, for instance, downplayed the potential impact of a shutdown and emphasized the significance of addressing the nation’s $2 trillion deficit and $33 trillion national debt.

As every government shutdown unfolds differently, certain commonalities emerge. In a shutdown, various government functions typically experience slowdowns. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) continuously updates shutdown plans developed by federal agencies, determining which functions are essential and must continue during a shutdown. Essential federal employees work without pay during the shutdown, receiving retroactive pay once it concludes. Other federal employees, however, are furloughed until Congress passes a spending package.

Essential services, such as air traffic control, border patrol, Social Security, and Medicare benefits, continue during a shutdown. Nevertheless, even some essential services can be affected. For instance, during the 2018-2019 government shutdown, financial constraints led to some TSA agents and air traffic controllers not working, causing flight delays and terminal closures.

Nonessential services, on the other hand, may experience shutdown-related disruptions. National parks could face closures or reduced services, while nonessential food safety inspections may be delayed.

As Congress enters this critical period, the nation watches closely, hoping for bipartisan cooperation to avoid the potentially disruptive consequences of a government shutdown.