12/02/2021

Congress to Extend Government Funding to Feb. 18

GOP leaders may halt it if vaccine mandates aren't removed nationwide

The House is likely to vote on a stopgap spending measure today with government funding set to expire tomorrow, Friday. This morning, a deal was struck between Democrats and Republicans to continue government funding at current levels until Feb. 18, 2021.

Democrats wanted a continuing resolution to fund the government until Jan. 28. Also included in the measure is an additional $7 billion for Afghanistan refugee settlement.

Some senators have threatened to block swift consideration of the funding measure unless an amendment is passed to defund enforcement of the Biden administration’s recent vaccine mandate for private businesses.

“I’m sure we would all like to simplify the process for resolving the CR, but I can’t facilitate that without addressing the vaccine mandates,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) told POLITICO Playbook. “Given that federal courts across the country have raised serious issues with these mandates, it’s not unreasonable for my Democratic colleagues to delay enforcement of the mandates for at least the length of the continuing resolution.”

It’s unclear how many Republican senators are willing to follow through on the shutdown threat, but only one senator’s objection would likely delay action until after Friday’s midnight deadline.

“I hope that a small group of Republicans don’t choose obstruction,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters Wednesday.

This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of A and Inroads.