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Obama Signs CR, Everyone Now Focuses on Campaigning

Today, President Obama signed the much debated and negotiated continuing resolution into law. The CR will fund the government until December 9th and will fully fund the FY 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs programs. It further includes $1.1 billion in Zika response funding, $500 million for flood relief in Louisiana and other states.

The CR was cleared by the House on Wednesday night on a 342-85 vote and earlier in the day was passed by the Senate, 72-26.

The legislation extends government funding until December 9, which is when lawmakers are expected to be in Washington for a lame-duck session after the election. The passage and enactment allows the House and Senate to focus on political campaigns for the month of October.

White House Announces Support for CR

Following the Senate’s passage of the CR, the White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) in support of the CR. While the SAP does express concerns and desires for what is or should have been included, the White House does express support for the overall legislation.

Read the SAP here. 

Senate Passes 10-Week Continuing Resolution

Today the Senate passed a 10-week continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through December 9. In addition, the CR also provides $500 million for flood relief in Louisiana and surrounding areas, year-long appropriations for military construction and veterans programs, and $1.1 billion for efforts to mediate the spread of the Zika virus. The House must take action on the CR by Friday in order to avoid a government shutdown, as the federal fiscal year ends on September 30. 

Previously, Senate Democrats blocked the measure because it did not contain funding to help Flint, Michigan, repair its lead-tainted water supply. However, House and Senate leaders have negotiated an agreement, and the House will amend its version of the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) to provide funding for Flint to mediate its water emergency. 

Count Down to Shut Down: New Strategy

Senate leaders have been locked in partisan combat for days over whether a stopgap spending measure to keep the government running past Friday should include disaster aid at all. Senate Republicans included $500 million for flood victims in Louisiana and other water-drenched states, where thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged. Democrats, however, have insisted that any effort to help Louisiana should be coupled with aid to Flint, MI, where an estimated 9,000 children have been poisoned by lead from a contaminated water system for more than a year.

The Senate Republican proposed stopgap measure, which was presented last week and  drafted last week without Democratic cooperation, would extend current funding levels to December 9, while providing $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus. It also would offer a full year of funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects.

The measure failed, as expected, to advance the measure Tuesday, when supporters mustered only 45 votes for it on a procedural test or a cloture vote, which requires 60 votes to proceed.

Today, the Senate has invoked cloture on a 10-week continuing resolution. The vote is the first in a series on the stopgap spending package, which is needed to avoid a government shutdown when FY 2016 funding expires at midnight on Friday. Senate Democrats objections were resolved Wednesday following the failed vote on Wednesday after congressional leaders reached a deal to provide aid for Flint, MI, through separate authorizing legislation.

The tally was 60-13 with voting continuing to proceed on the motion, and ending debate.

Shut Down Looms, Senate Fails to Get Cloture

This afternoon, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture, or limit debate, on the expected legislative vehicle for a 10-week continuing resolution (CR). The measure funds the government until December 9th as well as includes emergency spending to combat the Zika virus; $500 million in flood relief for Louisiana and other states; and full-year appropriations for military construction and veterans programs, among other contents.  Without cloture, the Senate cannot move forward procedurally with a stopgap needed to keep the government funded past Friday September 30.

Senate Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the measure because it contains no funds for Flint, MI to repair its lead-contaminated water system. Top Senate Democrats said they would not settle for a commitment from Republicans to include the money during a conference committee consideration of a water resources bill that has passed the Senate and is being considered in the House this week.

Following the vote, Senate Republicans said they are weighing the possibility of dropping flood relief for Louisiana and other states from the package in order to meet Democratic demands and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week. 

On the House side, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) stated that the House will “have a response” if the Senate’s procedural vote on the continuing resolution is rejected this afternoon. In addition, on Monday night the House Rules Committee advanced a rule for a water resources authorization bill that includes language providing “same-day authority” through September 30 to speed consideration of a CR. The Rules Committee last week had already granted same-day authority, otherwise known as “martial law,” through Tuesday. 

House and Senate Lawmakers will now have to head back to the negotiating table and hash out a deal palatable enough to garner 60 votes in the Senate that would also pass through the House before Friday at midnight.