Senate Once Again Kicks Funding Can Down The Road

The Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) early Saturday to fund the government without addressing the national debt.

The CR would fund the government through Dec. 11 to avoid a government shutdown ahead of the midterm elections. The funding bill extends current funding levels rather than addressing the national debt, which amounts to approximately $39.8 trillion.

The House passed its own version of a CR on July 21 in a 220-to-205 vote, which would fund the government until Dec. 4.

The Senate voted to invoke cloture on the CR in a 91-to-6 vote, which limited debate so the floor could eventually vote on a final passage. Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Democratic Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine voted against the motion.

The final vote on the CR was 90-6, as South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham voted “present” because it included a death benefit to the heir of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The legislation is a standard stopgap measure that continues current government spending levels, meaning no spending cuts were added.

Paul expressed concern over the national debt in a Friday X post. He referred to a $95 billion reconciliation package that passed the House on July 22 and included no offsets.

“Today we will vote on 2 budgets: One spends $100 billion MORE and is not offset by cuts. Pure debt.
The other budget actually cuts spending by $400 billion dollars! Call your legislators and demand they vote for NO MORE DEBT!” Paul said.

Lawmakers disagreed on a provision that would delay banning hemp THC products. Republican North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd introduced an amendment to strip a provision that would delay a ban on hemp scheduled for November until Dec. 11, which is expected to pass.

The White House requested a delay, arguing the brief delay would allow lawmakers and industry stakeholders to negotiate a reasonable federal regulatory system rather than abruptly shutting down a multi-billion dollar industry. Republican senators confronted White House legislative affairs chief James Braid over the hemp issue during a Senate GOP lunch, Punchbowl reported.

The Senate had planned to vote on the CR Friday before leaving for the August recess. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced it out of the committee in a Monday vote.

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