Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday postponed a procedural vote to advance Senate legislation to fund the government beyond Nov. 17 in order to give Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a chance to move first with a two-step stopgap that would fund federal departments until Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.
By delaying the vote, Schumer indicated that he is willing to give Johnson the time and space to pass a House GOP-drafted continuing resolution that would fund the government at current levels.
It 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. It would fund all other federal programs, including the Department of Defense, until Feb. 2.
Schumer praised Johnson’s proposal for not including the steep spending cuts demanded by some House conservatives and said it would prevent a harmful government shutdown.
“We are pausing on our plans 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,” he said.
“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,” he added.