The US Capitol. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — In a twist few saw coming, Congress has reached a last minute agreement to keep the government open and avoid a shutdown that Defense Department leadership had warned would be devastating to national security.
Under the agreement, the government will operate through a continuing resolution (CR) for the next 45 days — but with no funding for Ukraine attached. A CR, which funds the government at previous fiscal year levels, is usually viewed as a negative by the DoD, but will certainly be more welcome than a shutdown, even if it means uncertainty remains about what happens come mid-November.
The consensus around Washington on Saturday morning was that a shutdown was imminent, after House Republicans rejected their own proposed CR. But in a surprise move, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Saturday brought a CR without any of the conservative priorities in his previous bill to the floor. McCarthy was able to get enough centrist Republicans to join with the vast majority of Democrats in voting the language through — triggering cheers on the House floor and immediate questions about whether conservatives would seek to remove McCarthy from his role.
The Senate moved quickly, passing its own CR before 9 pm and sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk. The final House vote was 335-91, the final Senate vote 88-9.
While keeping the government open, the agreement does tee up a near-term fight on funding for Ukraine. The Senate had proposed $6 billion in aid for Kyiv, which was dropped in order to expedite the CR. According to Politico, there is an expectation that aid for Ukraine will be taken up and passed fairly quickly now that it is divorced from the question of the CR.
“While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said in a statement. “I fully expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”
On the industry side, the CR means that the upcoming annual Association of the US Army (AUSA) conference will feature Army participation.
