Congress Kicks Fiscal Can Past Election with Another Short Term Funding Bill: No SAVE Act

The U.S. Congress approved a Continuing Resolution this week that will provide ninety days worth of funding for the government, averting a shutdown through December 20.

In addition to keeping the government funded for a few months, this bill also includes $231 million for the Secret Service in the wake of a second attempt on former President Donald Trump’s (R) life.

Legislators had until Oct. 1 to approve a stop-gap spending package in order to avoid a government shutdown.

The short-term funding bill is the latest what has become a Washington, D.C. tradition, whereby Members of Congress attempt to leverage a looming “government shutdown” in order to extract policy concessions from the other side.

As of Thursday, the to U.S. national debt stood at $35.4 trillion — or roughly $104,922 per U.S. citizen — and the U.S. spending deficit was $6.9 trillion.

The stop-gap bill reportedly passed the Senate by a vote of 78-18 and was approved in the House by a margin of 341-82.

All those voting against the stop-gap bill in both the House and Senate were Republicans.

In a statement released Wednesday, President Joe Biden (D) appeared to thank legislators for advancing the resolution and keeping the government open but not indicate when he plans to sign the bill into law. He went on to encourage elected officials to finalize full-year funding bills by the end of this year.

“My Administration will work with Congress to ensure these bills deliver for America’s national defense, veterans, seniors, children, and working families, and address urgent needs for the American people, including communities recovering from disasters,” said President Biden.

“And while the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has the resources it currently needs to continue its successful efforts to ensure that the wealthy and large corporations pay the taxes they owe,” he concluded, “my Administration will oppose any cuts or restrictions that would increase the deficit by limiting the IRS’s ability to crack down on wealthy tax cheats.”

Click Here to Read President Biden’s Full Statement

The now-approved stop-gap was the second proposal advanced by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in an effort to keep the government open, developed after the initial draft was rejected in the House earlier this month.

Under the original proposal, provisions from the SAVE Act — short for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — would have been included, requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

Just three Democrats voted in support of this stop-gap bill alongside the majority of Republicans, including Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Davis (D-N.C.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.).

Republican opposition to the initial package reportedly stemmed from a variety of concerns, including the use of a stop-gap measure itself and its inclusion of “excessive spending.”

[RELATED: House GOP Balks at Linking SAVE Act to Government Funding Bill]

The SAVE Act was first put forward earlier this year as a standalone bill by a large group of Republican lawmakers with the purpose of protecting the integrity of U.S. elections in light of the surge in illegal immigration.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) — one of the forty-nine House lawmakers in the cohort that introduced this legislation — advocated for the SAVE Act as a means by which to “end the practice of non-citizens voting in our elections.”

Last month, the White House issued a statement strongly opposing the bill, arguing that it would “do nothing to safeguard our elections,” serving only to make it more difficult for eligible voters to cast their ballots.

Although the SAVE Act was successfully approved by House lawmakers in August, it is unlikely that the legislation will be able to gain traction in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and given the Biden Administration’s express opposition to the measure, the bill would likely be vetoed if it were to reach the president’s desk.

Lawmakers are now set to take a lengthy recess and will not return until after the the November 5 election, meaning that when they return they will face a tight deadline before the stop-gap funding runs out on December 20.

Despite this, House Speaker Johnson reportedly vowed Tuesday that the chamber will not resort to the “Christmas omnibus spending tradition.”

“We are not going to return to the Christmas omnibus spending tradition, and that’s a commitment I’ve made to everyone,” Johnson said. “My encouragement to my Senate colleagues is to do your work, bring some appropriations bills to the floor and pass them so that we can all work together to get this job done.”

Similar sentiments have been echoed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), indicating that the now-approved stop-gap will allow lawmakers to “fully fund the government before the end of the year.”

“I hope this positive outcome of bipartisanship can set the tone for more constructive bipartisan work when we return in the fall,” Majority Leader Schumer reportedly said Wednesday.

Funding the U.S. federal government with short-term Continuing Resolutions is somewhat regular tradition in Washington, D.C. Typically, Republicans begin talking tough about getting Democrats to sign on to conservative policies in exchange for agreements to fund the government; however, Republicans usually cave and agree to pass spending bills anyways. From 2008 until 2024, Congress has passed 55 CR funding bills, not including this weeks votes.

Fiscal Year 2008 (Oct. 1, 2007 – Sept. 30, 2008)

• H.J.Res. 52 (Sep 29, 2007): Funded government until Nov 16, 2007.
• H.J.Res. 69 (Nov 13, 2007): Extended funding until Dec 14, 2007.
• H.J.Res. 72 (Dec 14, 2007): Extended until Dec 21, 2007.
• H.J.Res. 73 (Dec 21, 2007): Extended until Dec 31, 2007.

Fiscal Year 2009 (Oct. 1, 2008 – Sept. 30, 2009)

• H.R. 2638 (Sep 30, 2008): Provided funding until Mar 6, 2009.

Fiscal Year 2010 (Oct. 1, 2009 – Sept. 30, 2010)

• H.R. 2918 (Sep 30, 2009): Extended funding until Dec 18, 2009.
• H.R. 3326 (Dec 19, 2009): Covered the remainder of the fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2011 (Oct. 1, 2010 – Sept. 30, 2011)

• H.R. 3081 (Sep 30, 2010): Funded the government until Dec 3, 2010.
• H.J.Res. 101 (Dec 2, 2010): Extended until Dec 18, 2010.
• H.R. 3082 (Dec 21, 2010): Extended until Mar 4, 2011.
• H.J.Res. 44 (Mar 2, 2011): Extended until Mar 18, 2011.
• H.J.Res. 48 (Mar 18, 2011): Extended until Apr 8, 2011.
• H.R. 1473 (Apr 9, 2011): Funded the remainder of the fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011 – Sept. 30, 2012)

• H.R. 2608 (Sep 30, 2011): Extended until Nov 18, 2011.
• H.J.Res. 94 (Nov 18, 2011): Extended until Dec 16, 2011.
• H.J.Res. 95 (Dec 16, 2011): Extended until Dec 17, 2011.
• H.J.Res. 96 (Dec 17, 2011): Extended until Dec 23, 2011.

Fiscal Year 2013 (Oct. 1, 2012 – Sept. 30, 2013)

• H.J.Res. 117 (Sep 28, 2012): Funded the government until Mar 27, 2013.
• H.R. 933 (Mar 26, 2013): Funded the remainder of the fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2014 (Oct. 1, 2013 – Sept. 30, 2014)

• H.R. 2775 (Oct 16, 2013): Funded the government until Jan 15, 2014.
• H.J.Res. 106 (Jan 15, 2014): Extended until Jan 18, 2014.

Fiscal Year 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 – Sept. 30, 2015)

• H.J.Res. 124 (Sep 19, 2014): Funded until Dec 11, 2014.
• H.R. 83 (Dec 13, 2014): Extended until Dec 17, 2014.
• H.J.Res. 130 (Dec 16, 2014): Funded until Dec 20, 2014.

Fiscal Year 2016 (Oct. 1, 2015 – Sept. 30, 2016)

• H.R. 719 (Sep 30, 2015): Funded the government until Dec 11, 2015.
• H.J.Res. 75 (Dec 11, 2015): Extended until Dec 16, 2015.
• H.R. 2029 (Dec 16, 2015): Funded the remainder of the fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2017 (Oct. 1, 2016 – Sept. 30, 2017)

• H.R. 5325 (Sep 29, 2016): Funded until Dec 9, 2016.
• H.R. 2028 (Dec 10, 2016): Extended until Apr 28, 2017.

Fiscal Year 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017 – Sept. 30, 2018)

• H.R. 601 (Sep 8, 2017): Funded the government until Dec 8, 2017.
• H.J.Res. 123 (Dec 8, 2017): Extended until Dec 22, 2017.
• H.R. 1370 (Dec 22, 2017): Extended until Jan 19, 2018.
• H.R. 195 (Jan 22, 2018): Extended until Feb 8, 2018.
• H.R. 1892 (Feb 9, 2018): Extended until Mar 23, 2018.

Fiscal Year 2019 (Oct. 1, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2019)

• H.R. 6157 (Sep 28, 2018): Funded until Dec 7, 2018.
• H.J.Res. 143 (Dec 7, 2018): Extended until Dec 21, 2018.
• H.J.Res. 28 (Jan 25, 2019): Extended until Feb 15, 2019.

Fiscal Year 2020 (Oct. 1, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2020)

• H.R. 4378 (Sep 27, 2019): Funded until Nov 21, 2019.
• H.R. 3055 (Nov 21, 2019): Extended until Dec 20, 2019.

Fiscal Year 2021 (Oct. 1, 2020 – Sept. 30, 2021)

• H.R. 8337 (Oct 1, 2020): Funded until Dec 11, 2020.
• H.R. 8900 (Dec 11, 2020): Extended until Dec 18, 2020.
• H.R. 1520 (Dec 18, 2020): Extended until Dec 20, 2020.
• H.R. 133 (Dec 21, 2020): Funded the remainder of the fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022)

• H.R. 5305 (Sep 30, 2021): Funded until Dec 3, 2021.
• H.R. 6119 (Dec 3, 2021): Extended until Feb 18, 2022.
• H.R. 6617 (Feb 18, 2022): Extended until Mar 11, 2022.

Fiscal Year 2023 (Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2023)

• H.R. 6833 (Sep 30, 2022): Funded until Dec 16, 2022.
• H.R. 1437 (Dec 16, 2022): Extended until Dec 23, 2022.