US Agencies May Face Rolling Shutdowns (Worthy News In-depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – America’s government agencies could face ongoing independent shutdowns under a proposal pushed forward by the recently elected U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Speaker, a Republican from Louisiana, said he was considering a continuing resolution known as “laddered CR” [Continuing Resolution] to make this possible.
His plan would create several “stopgap bills” that fund different parts of the government with varying dates of end.
That would prevent the closure of all agencies if there is no agreement on one spending bill as it sets up separate deadlines for each legislation impacting different federal agencies.
Johnson reiterated he would like to see a CR through January 15 with conditions that could include automatic funding cuts, but he was considering proposals from other Republicans.
“I’ll unpack for you what that means here in the coming days, but potentially that you would do a [laddered] CR that extends individual pieces of the appropriations process, individual bills,” Johnson said in comments monitored by Worthy News on Saturday.
His plan comes as the U.S. Congress, which includes the Democratically-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives, must agree on funding before November 17 to avoid an entire government shutdown.
TROUBLES AHEAD
That won’t be easy under the current political realities. In addition to regular funding, lawmakers are looking to address U.S. President Joe Biden’s request for $106 billion in supplemental support for Israel and Ukraine as well as boost resources at the border.
Within the Republican Party, there has been growing opposition towards more funding for Ukraine as it continues its war against invading Russian troops.
Republicans also object to combining the two issues, joined by a smaller number of party members in the Senate.
Opinion polls show public support for Ukraine aid declining, and many Republicans, especially those most closely aligned with former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, are against it.
With federal spending fueled by a mind-blowing $31.4 trillion in debt, they question whether Washington should be funding Ukraine’s war with Russia. They prefer backing Israel or boosting efforts to push back against a rising China.
The White House argues that without funding Ukraine, the country could lose the war, enabling Russia to take over the country and move on to other nations in Europe.
Yet House Speaker Mike Johnson has voted against assistance for Kyiv, voting records show.
SUPPORTING ISRAEL
Before his latest “laddered CR” plan, he introduced a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service, setting up a showdown with Senate Democrats.
“Right now, my belief is that this dire situation in Israel is so important that it’s more immediate than that,” Johnson said. “And if Democrats in the Senate or the House or anyone else want to argue that hiring more IRS agents is more important than standing with Israel in this moment, I’m ready to have that debate.”
That approach fits in his latest “laddered CR” plan to see annual appropriations for different agencies split into 12 distinct bills. It would involve a “stopgap” for each of those and setting 12 other deadlines for when they expire.
Critics say that would significantly complicate the funding process, forcing Congress to quickly tackle different measures to avoid shutting down parts of the government.
It would also lead to massive headaches for agencies, which would face ongoing uncertainty and difficulties in coordinating with other parts of government, critics argue.
“I don’t know what a laddered CR does,” wondered House Representative Pete Aguliar, an outspoken Democrat from California. “I don’t think that that’s a plan that’s very baked from the perspective of the Appropriations Committee. I don’t think that it is grounded in much reality.”
Johnson remains hopeful. “We’ll see how that goes. I think we can build consensus around it.”
But with the clock clicking towards a November 17 government shutdown deadline, friends and foes realize there isn’t much time left to agree.
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.