[W]ASHINGTON — Congress averted a federal shutdown Thursday evening by passing a spending bill that will keep government open for two more weeks.
The three members of Vermont’s delegation were divided over the temporary fix, which came one day before the government would have run out of funds.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was in favor of the short-term continuing resolution. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., both voted against it.
The continuing resolution will keep government operations going through Dec. 22 as Republicans try to usher their tax overhaul proposal to the president’s desk by the end of the year. A key part of the GOP agenda, the legislation will go before a conference committee next week, then come up for a vote in each chamber again.
The package also includes temporary funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which expired more than two months ago. States have largely been able to continue operating the program with reserve funds, but some were due to run out soon.
Vermont officials estimate the state will not run out of CHIP funding until March.
Welch joined minority leadership in opposing the continuing resolution in the House, where it passed 235-193.
In an interview Thursday morning, he said he wouldn’t support the temporary spending fix. He objected to the approach House Republican leadership has taken, largely shutting Democrats out of the process, he said.
He said the purpose of the short-term extension was to keep the government open for a few more weeks with the “big dream of this bad tax bill passing.”
Welch said a short-term spending bill would not resolve larger issues related to the budget and that Congress could still reach an impasse.
“I think it’s a reasonable chance at some point we’ll have a shutdown,” he said.
Leahy voted in favor of the two-week fix and urged other senators to follow suit.
He said on the Senate floor that it is important for lawmakers to reach a budget deal that will raise spending levels for defense and non-defense programs equally, and will avoid triggering automatic budget cuts.
“The continuing resolution before us today will allow us more time to reach a bipartisan agreement, to keep the government’s lights on during negotiations,” Leahy said.
He harked back to negotiations on a budget deal in March and said he is willing to do that again.
“I’ll work with the Republican leadership as I did then to secure the funding agreements we need to complete our appropriations work for the fiscal year,” Leahy said. “This two-week continuing resolution will give us that chance.”
The Senate passed the resolution 81-14. Sanders cast one of the no votes.
The shutdown threat loomed over the Capitol through the week as congressional leaders’ strategy for a spending extension was met with division within the House GOP caucus.
Meanwhile, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats have been stalled. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., attended the first bipartisan meeting at the White House on the issue on Thursday.
With the deadline on the horizon, Vermont officials began preparations for the possibility of a federal shutdown earlier this week.
Deputy Secretary of Administration Brad Ferland said such preparations have become somewhat routine.
“This is a drill, unfortunately, we’ve gone through almost annually for the last several years,” he said.
Ferland said the administration directed all state departments and agencies to ensure they had collected all the money they were owed from federal sources, such as grants.
He also checked in with State Treasurer Beth Pearce on how much cash the state had available. Given those numbers, he estimated Vermont would be in a good position for about two months of federal shutdown.
Shutdowns are unlikely to continue that long, he said. The last one, in 2013, lasted 16 days.
“We’re fortunate that we have a strong cash position, which allows us to weather these scenarios,” Ferland said.
Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille said he expected the agency would be able to continue operating as normal in the short term. If a federal shutdown persisted longer, managing operations could be more challenging, he said.
Mark Bosma, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, said the department does not anticipate a shutdown would have a significant impact on operations.
Federal law enforcement agencies that the state partners with have been considered essential and have remained open during past shutdowns, he said.
A regional spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service said the agency would remain open in the event of a shutdown.
