Congress has passed a crucial funding resolution just before the end of the fiscal year, averting a potential government shutdown.
News 9 reported that the continuing resolution will keep the government funded until mid-December, giving lawmakers more time to finalize a long-term budget plan. This temporary measure was crucial to avoid interruptions to government services and set the stage for what is expected to be a highly charged post-election legislative session.
The CR passed with bipartisan support, but tensions remain over how future spending decisions will be handled, especially during the lame-duck session that will follow the November elections.
In the House of Representatives, the resolution was approved with a vote of 341-82. All of the "no" votes came from Republicans, showcasing some dissent within the party over how the government should handle its fiscal responsibilities.
The Oklahoma delegation's response reflected this divide, with four members voting for the measure and one voting against it. In the Senate, the resolution passed with a vote of 78-18, with Oklahoma’s two senators split on the issue.
Among Oklahoma’s congressional representatives, the House and Senate votes showed a clear division. Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK5) voted in favor of the resolution. She cited her concerns about the potential negative effects of a government shutdown on key sectors, including the military and border patrol.
“I could not in good conscience vote to shut the government down, which would have damaging effects on our community, our military, and our Border Patrol agents,” Bice said after the vote.
Conversely, Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK2) expressed his frustration with the short-term nature of the resolution.
Brecheen indicated he would have preferred a longer-term CR extending through 2025. His stance reflects a broader dissatisfaction among some conservatives who feel that temporary fixes only delay more comprehensive fiscal solutions.
In the Senate, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) cast a "no" vote, arguing that Senate leadership had failed to prioritize passing appropriations bills through regular order.
He voiced his frustration with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, stating, “I’m a no on this CR, because the Senate had every opportunity to fund the government through regular order, but instead, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer willfully abandoned his responsibility and refused to bring appropriations bills to the floor.”
While the stopgap measure will prevent a shutdown for now, Congress still has significant work ahead.
The House has only managed to pass five out of the twelve appropriations bills required to fund the government for the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Senate has yet to bring any of these bills to the floor, intensifying concerns that the legislative body is pushing too much unfinished business into the post-election session.
The upcoming lame-duck session is expected to be contentious, with high-stakes negotiations over the remaining appropriations bills and the debt and deficit looming. Many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle believe that these unresolved issues will lead to intense debate and possibly significant policy shifts in the final months of the year.
In addition to resolving the remaining appropriations bills, Congress must also address the expiration of the Farm Bill, a vital piece of legislation that impacts the agriculture sector nationwide. The Farm Bill will either need to be passed or extended during the November-December session, adding yet another layer of complexity to the upcoming negotiations.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who voted in favor of the CR, emphasized the importance of using the post-election session to address long-term fiscal issues.
“We have to be able to actually settle some of these issues on debt and deficit, and be able to have some of the hard conversations that are there, but now it's going to get punted to November-December,” Lankford stated.
With the CR in place and a government shutdown temporarily avoided, all eyes are now on the post-election session.
The outcome of the November elections will likely shape the tone of the discussions in December, as newly elected members of Congress prepare to take office in January. However, the current Congress will still have significant responsibilities to address before then, including how to manage the nation’s long-term spending and debt concerns.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK1), another supporter of the CR, noted the political dynamics at play as the election approaches.
“Democrats and their allies in the media would love to see a shutdown so close to Election Day. They would falsely blame Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for every problem that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created, but I refuse to play their game,” Hern said, highlighting the partisan undertones surrounding the funding debate.
