Schumer Delays Vote for CR, Waits on House

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has decided to hold off on a Senate vote that was meant to determine how to fund the government after Nov. 17, The Hill reported Monday.

Schumer plans to give Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., time to pass a two-step stopgap funding bill.

If passed, the bill would fund “military construction and the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development and energy and water programs until Jan. 19” and would “fund all other federal programs, including the Department of Defense, until Feb. 2.”

But Johnson’s proposal isn’t without its critics. Some Republicans say it doesn’t do enough to reduce how much the government is spending.

Despite this, Schumer has spoken highly of Johnson’s plan, praising that it doesn’t make big spending cuts and would help avoid a government shutdown.

“We are pausing on our plans,” Schumer said, “to move forward on a Senate vehicle to allow the House to move first with their proposal. I’ve said since the very beginning that bipartisanship is the only way to avoid a government shutdown.”

“I’m heartened that the bill Speaker Johnson is advancing omits the devastating cuts that are nonstarters for Democrats. The Speaker’s proposal is far from perfect, but the most important thing is that it refrains from making steep cuts while avoiding a costly government shutdown.”