The amendment would have required both chambers of Congress to work exclusively on appropriations should they not meet the current funding deadline.
The Senate voted to not include an amendment to government shutdown protocol in a package of three bills the chamber is considering. The amendment was proposed by Senator James Lankford and would have required both the House and the Senate to work exclusively to pass stopgap funding in the event that Congress does not pass the Fiscal Year 2024 budget before the government’s current finances run out. The Senate came up four votes short of the 60 votes required to include the amendment.
“If Congress gets to the end of the fiscal year and the appropriations work is not done by the end of the year, we stay in session seven days a week, we can’t move to any other bill other than appropriations until we actually finish appropriations,” Senator Lankford said in the floor ahead of the vote. “If I can make it just this simple: If we don’t finish our classwork, we have to stay after class.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of the House and Senate as they deliberate and vote on appropriations bills.
- For the president and his administration to work with Congress on government funding.
Sources: Reuters, The Hill
