Congress on Recess Ahead of March 1 Partial Shutdown Deadline
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Congress has just one more week to reach a funding deal before parts of the government shut down. The House does not return from recess until Wednesday.
The Details: If Congress does not reach a deal on 20% of annual appropriations for the current fiscal year before March 1, parts of the federal government will shut down. The full government shutdown deadline is a week later, on March 8. The Senate will return from recess on Monday.
Key Quotes: As with the last few shutdown scares, holdouts from the conservative House Freedom Caucus are calling for either extensive spending cuts and policy changes or a one-year continuing resolution that would be subject to automatic cuts, arguing it would “save Americans $100 billion in year one.” Either way, such a plan would need to get past a Democrat-controlled Senate. A “worried” GOP Senate aide told The Hill (Center bias) that “the chances of a shutdown are the highest we’ve had this fiscal year.” Thanks to lawmakers working through the recess, however, The Hill also reported that “A deal is expected to be released as early as Sunday.”
How the Media Covered It: Coverage often appeared pessimistic across the spectrum; a Washington Times (Lean Right bias) analysis said government spending bills were “too big for lawmakers to handle,” Roll Call (Center bias) called the issue a “tall order,” and Axios (Lean Left bias) quoted an unnamed GOP lawmaker who said, “People are predicting a shutdown even if it's just for a few days.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
New shutdown deadline looms on March 1; government spending bills too big for lawmakers to handle
House Republicans have made a lot of noise about breaking Washington’s habit of relying on an end-of-year, colossal catchall spending bill to fund the federal government, but they have made little progress in finishing the work.
After three stopgap bills to avert shutdowns and lingering disagreements over spending, passing all 12 annual spending bills one by one appears impossible.
Yet House Speaker Mike Johnson and his Republican conference’s band of archconservatives stand firmly in their quest. Complicating matters, the Republicans’ majority is down to two seats with the loss of a New...
From the Left
Federal government to begin the formal process of preparing for partial shutdown – again
Congress is quickly approaching a pair of government funding deadlines, with one week to go before a potential partial shutdown and lawmakers at an impasse with no clear plan in place to avoid it.
On Friday, the federal government will formally initiate the process of preparing for a potential shutdown, participating in the mandatory-but-standard process of releasing shutdown guidance to agencies ahead of the March 1 funding deadline. That means federal departments and agencies impacted by the first deadline will need to update and review their shutdown plans.
If this feels familiar,...
From the Center
GOP shutdown fears grow: ‘We could be in a world of hurt’
Leaders in both parties are racing to secure a deal on government spending as the negotiation window quickly closes and the fears of a shutdown grow more pronounced.
Congress returns to Washington next week facing a pair of looming funding deadlines — March 1 for a handful of agencies and March 8 for the rest — leaving lawmakers with little time to iron out their differences and get bills to the floor to keep the government open.
While Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has moved deftly to avoid a shutdown since taking the...
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