What’s going on in the United States government right now?
Well. We don’t know yet.
No, I’m being serious, the federal government does not know what is happening Sept. 30, and neither do the American people. So, what is really going on in Capitol Hill? To answer this question, we need to discuss what happened all the way back in March of this year.
In March, Congress passed a six-month long stopgap spending package or a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government from shutting down till the end of the fiscal year Sept 30. Now this – like most things going on in Washington these days – caused some controversy, specifically among the Democratic Party. The Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., supported the Republican funded bill in March, causing uproar from his own party. Schumer defended himself in an interview on CNN.
However, Schumer did a complete 180 on his statements in March this time around due to the funding cuts from the “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed in July or as I like to call it “the big beautiful let me cut your healthcare, food stamps and make the rich richer, bill.” That trademark is pending, of course! In all seriousness, this bill showed Democrats like Schumer that come September they must take a firm stance.
Except the “stance” they took came just days before this past Friday’s vote in Congress, less than two weeks from the shutdown. The democrats came forth with their own offer, that would be in effect until Oct. 31, and would permanently extend Obamacare subsidies that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, as well as reverse Medicaid cuts enacted in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” It would also lift the freeze on foreign aid and restore funding for public broadcasting.
In theory, this form of legislation would help many U.S. citizens. However, given the fact that the president of the United States gets upset when someone makes a joke about him on television, there is a very unlikely chance any of the loyal Republicans would go for it. Yet, Schumer is not backing down with this bill and neither is the rest of his party.
How does this play out in Congress, you might ask? It didn’t work as expected. This past Friday, Sept. 19, the Republicans’ version of the bill – which is essentially another CR without any additional cuts until the end of November – passed in the House of Representatives, 217-212. This was as expected because Speaker of the House Sen. Mike Johnson, R-L.A., was adamant about passing it. When the bill arrived at the Senate though, it lost by a vote of 44 to 48. The Democrats bill also failed by a vote of 47 to 45.
Now, we still don’t have any answers, and the clock is ticking until Sept. 30. Congress needs to make a final decision so myself, along with other Americans, are not worrying each day if federal programs will get shut down or not.
Maybe instead of getting mad at each other or late-night television hosts, the government should do what it was, yes sadly even in this administration, elected to do: Represent the people.
