US House speaker unveils stopgap bill to avert government shutdown before Friday deadline

The Republican-controlled House and Democratic-led Senate have until Friday to enact funding legislation or risk a fourth partial government shutdown

A shutdown would close national parks, halt pay for millions of federal workers and disrupt activities from financial oversight to scientific research

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US House speaker Mike Johnson. Photo: Getty Images / TNS

Published: 5:12am, 12 Nov 2023Updated: 7:45am, 12 Nov 2023

US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Saturday announced a two-step temporary funding measure aimed at averting a partial government shutdown a week from now, but the measure quickly ran into opposition from lawmakers from both parties in Congress.

Unlike ordinary continuing resolutions, or “CRs,” that fund federal agencies for a specific period, the measure announced by Johnson would fund some parts of the government until January 19 and others until February 2. House Republicans hope to pass the measure on Tuesday.

“This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement after announcing the plan to House Republicans in a conference call.

The House Republican stopgap contained no supplemental funding such as aid for Israel or Ukraine.

The House and Democratic-led Senate must agree on a spending vehicle that President Joe Biden can sign into law by Friday, or risk a fourth partial government shutdown in a decade that would close national parks, disrupt pay for as many as 4 million federal workers and disrupt a swathe of activities from financial oversight to scientific research.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a release that the proposal was “just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns.” She said “House Republicans are wasting precious time with an unserious proposal that has been panned by members of both parties.”

Johnson, the top Republican in Congress, unveiled his stopgap a day after Moody’s, the last major credit ratings agency to maintain a top “AAA” rating on the US government, lowered its outlook on the nation’s credit to “negative” from “stable,” citing political polarisation in Congress on spending as a danger to the nation’s fiscal health.

The Louisiana Republican appeared to be appealing to two warring House Republican factions: hardliners who wanted legislation with multiple end-dates; and centrists who had called for a “clean” stopgap measure free of spending cuts and conservative policy riders that Democrats reject.