US Congress Puts Election-Year Issues at the Center of Government Funding Debate, Reports Reuters

By Bo Erickson and David Morgan

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Congress is set to resume its work on Monday as it approaches a deadline for government funding at the end of the month. In this election year, political maneuvering remains a priority, particularly among Republicans who aim to promote a voting bill championed by former President Donald Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has put forth a six-month stopgap funding bill that includes a provision requiring individuals to prove their citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. While non-citizens are already prohibited from voting in these elections, studies indicate that there is no substantial evidence of widespread illegal voting. Nevertheless, Trump has emphasized this issue throughout his campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Steve Scalise, the second-ranking House Republican, stated that the citizenship verification measure is a significant demand among GOP members. "We’ve been communicating with many of our members, and while everyone has their priorities, this is the one issue that most of our members have rallied around," Scalise commented.

The Democratic-controlled Senate previously ignored a standalone bill on this topic that was passed by the Republican-controlled House earlier in the year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has expressed little enthusiasm for the new proposal. "As we have noted with each continuing resolution, success comes through bipartisan cooperation, which has been the case consistently," Schumer remarked.

Some House Republicans have been skeptical about including the citizenship voting measure in the spending bill. "It’s disingenuous and dishonest to attach it to that resolution, knowing it’s unlikely to pass," stated Representative Matt Rosendale, who encourages his party to focus on funding bills aligned with conservative spending priorities.

The House Rules Committee is expected to review the funding bill on Monday, which is designed to keep the government operational until March 28, setting the stage for a potential vote by the full House later this week.

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries aims to advocate for a discretionary spending level of $1.68 trillion, a figure agreed upon during previous debt ceiling negotiations.

As lawmakers prepare for the critical deadline, nearly three decades have passed since Congress last successfully managed to fund the government before the September 30 end of the fiscal year in 1996. This year, a complete funding bill wasn’t passed until March.

Additionally, lawmakers face a self-imposed deadline of January 1 to either raise or extend the national debt ceiling, in order to avoid a default on over $35 trillion of federal debt.

There is a general reluctance among lawmakers to risk a partial government shutdown, reminiscent of the 2018-2019 shutdown during Trump’s presidency. Trump has frequently advocated for shutdowns and may pressure Republicans to pursue one if the voting bill does not advance.

"I believe a shutdown benefits no one. It’s a quick way to lose the majority," said centrist Republican Representative Don Bacon, who has called for a stopgap funding measure extending only through December, citing immediate military spending needs.

Meanwhile, House Democrats have accused Republicans of political posturing. Representative Suzan DelBene, lead strategist for House Democrats’ re-election efforts, remarked, "House Republicans are again prioritizing politics over the country’s well-being. The public is weary of their ongoing chaos."