WASHINGTON – The House balked Thursday at considering a Senate-passed stop-gap spending bill to keep the government operating through Feb. 8 after President Trump told House Republican leaders he wouldn’t support the bill.
The new development restored the likelihood of a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday that might continue until early January when Democrats take majority control of the House.
Either alternative – a partial shutdown or a temporary spending measure -- leaves state and local governments with uncertainty going into 2019 over funding levels for many important grant programs.
Congress has not completed work on seven of its 12 annual appropriations bills that cover grant-making agencies ranging from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Transportation Department and Department of Agriculture.
“Cities expect our leaders in Washington to meet their most basic obligation and keep the federal government open,” National League of Cities President Karen Freeman-Wilson said in a statement.
Freeman-Wilson, mayor of Gary, Indiana, said that “a federal shutdown would impact programs that grow local economies and build more resilient communities. Instead of wasting $6.5 billion a week on a shutdown, let’s put that money to good use — by investing in America’s cities.”
The NLC predicts low-income and distressed communities will experience the sternest health and safety repercussions if a shutdown occurs.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaking to reporters outside the White House after a midday meeting with President Trump, said House Republican leaders would “go back to the House and work with our members.
“The president has informed us that he will not sign the bill that came over from the Senate last evening because of his legitimate concerns about border security,” Ryan said. “We want to keep the government open, but we also want to see an agreement that protects the border.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders issued a statement after meeting casting blame on Democratic lawmakers to failing to agree on funding for a border wall.
“We protect nations all over the world, but Democrats are unwilling to protect our nation,” the statement said. “We urgently need funding for border security and that includes a wall.”
Trump earlier Thursday appeared receptive to the temporary spending measure which passed the Senate Wednesday evening by unanimous consent. He changed course by mid-morning after growing outcry of criticism of the temporary measure from members of the House Freedom Caucus and conservative pundits.
By 10:28 a.m. Trump tweeted, “When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!”
