The Senate is set to vote on two stopgap spending bills this Friday as lawmakers look to prevent a government shutdown before the October 1 deadline approaches.
Earlier in the day, the House plans to vote and potentially approve the GOP’s seven-week “clean” continuing resolution (CR), which would then move to the upper chamber.
That would set the stage for the twin votes, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announcing the plan late on Thursday.
“We are going to do that,” Thune told reporters.
Both bills are anticipated to fail. Thune mentioned he would then reconsider the GOP’s proposal and would schedule additional votes closer to the deadline.
Thune also mentioned that it is “unlikely” for the Senate to return the following week. The chamber plans to be on recess next week for the Jewish High Holidays and will reconvene on September 29.
The Republican proposal aims to fund the government until November 21 at Fiscal 2024 spending levels. This plan is intended to allow appropriators time to negotiate a full-year spending agreement for the remainder of Fiscal 2026.
The Democratic proposal, on the other hand, seeks to restore nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts from the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this summer and includes a permanent extension of enhanced health insurance premium subsidies.
The latter part was part of the Affordable Care Act and is set to expire at the end of the year, with Democrats making it the hallmark of their funding push.
“The contrast between the Democratic budget proposal and the Republican proposal is glaring. The Republicans want the same old status quo — rising costs, declining health care. Democrats want to meet people’s needs by improving health care and lowering costs, in health care and many other places,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) told reporters on Wednesday while unveiling the plan.
Thune and Republicans have insisted the subsidies are not up for negotiation, especially in a bill to keep the government open for less than two months.
They have repeatedly urged Democrats to back the “clean” bill, noting that they have done so more than a dozen times in recent years.
