Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is planning to put a short-term government funding bill on the floor next week. It would keep federal agencies open until March 2025 at funding levels agreed to under last year’s Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).
To appease the House Freedom Caucus, Johnson will attach the SAVE Act to the funding bill, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in a federal election. Even if the bill gets through the House – and House Democrats have issues with the funding levels – it is likely a non-starter in the Senate, where Democrats have labeled the SAVE Act as a “scare tactic” as it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
"Demanding outrageous partisan poison pills is a nonstarter,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA). “We’ve seen this movie before and we know how it ends. Senate Democrats will continue to work in a bipartisan way to ensure we can keep the government funded and deliver responsible, bipartisan spending bills that can actually be signed into law before the end of the year.”
Government funding expires on Sept. 30, and it’s unlikely there will be a government shutdown so close to the elections. Johnson likely wants to tee this up next week – as soon as the House and Senate are back from recess – to allow time to pivot in strategy should the vote fail.
This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of Associations and Inroads.