No government shutdown for now: Congress agrees on temporary funding deal into December

WASHINGTON – Congress has reached a deal to extend government funding through Dec. 20, leaders announced on Sunday. They're expected to kick the can down the road as lawmakers try to dodge a devastating shutdown.

The agreement avoids the shutdown that was slated to begin at midnight on Sept. 30, ensuring Americans retain access to crucial government services and sidestepping an embarrassing political blunder with just weeks until the presidential election.

“If both sides continue to work in good faith, I am hopeful that we can wrap up work on the CR this week, well before the September 30 deadline. The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation, in both chambers," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement on Sunday.

The House is expected to vote on the funding extension, known as a continuing resolution or CR, on Wednesday. The Senate will take it up shortly thereafter in time to avoid a shutdown. It is expected to pass both chambers and be signed by President Joe Biden.

Still, the country isn't out of the woods. Lawmakers will have to negotiate a longer-term deal after the election – setting up another political fight in the final weeks before Congress turns over and a new president takes over the White House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled the plan in a letter to his House colleagues earlier on Sunday. The speaker also noted the tricky political tightrope Congress must navigate ahead of the election.

"As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice," Johnson said in his letter.

The deal struck between the GOP-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate came after Johnson tried and failed to pass a six-month extension that included a bill requiring people to show proof of citizenship to vote. The deal announced on Sunday didn't include the effort.

That bill was always doomed in the Senate, as Democrats argued noncitizen voting is already illegal and extremely rare, and that the legislation could instead make voting harder for millions of Americans who don't have easy access to their citizenship documents.

Former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to allow the government to shut down if they were unable to pass the voting legislation, which he claimed could impact the results of the presidential election.

Schumer criticized the GOP effort again on Sunday, saying “While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago. Instead, Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA way and wasted precious time."

While Sunday's deal excludes the contentious voting legislation, it does propose $231 million in additional funding for the U.S. Secret Service. The funding comes after a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump in July, grazing his ear, and another man was discovered this month lying in wait just outside the fence of a Florida golf course where Trump was playing.

What happens in a government shutdown?

During a government shutdown, federal employees who are classified as "nonessential" are sent home and paid once the government reopens. "Essential" workers – those necessary to keep the most crucial elements of the federal government functioning – would keep working and receive their pay.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits are considered essential and would continue, though it might be harder to get through to representatives for assistance during a shutdown. Other key benefit programs, such as military veterans programs and food programs would also continue.

The U.S. military and federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and prison staff, as well as the Secret Service, Coast Guard and border security agents would also keep working.

National parks and monuments would close to the public, and it may be harder to get other government services, like assistance with passports and visas, during a closure. Child care programs like Head Start would be left without funding.

Airport security and air traffic controllers would keep working, but there could be airline delays due to absenteeism.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Congress avoids government shutdown; Johnson, Schumer announce deal