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U.S. House passes bill to keep government open for 45 days, sends it to Senate
All four of Iowa’s Republican representatives voted in favor
Sep. 30, 2023 3:48 pm, Updated: Oct. 2, 2023 7:32 am
All four of Iowa’s Republican U.S. House representatives voted Saturday to pass a bipartisan resolution to avert a government shutdown just hours ahead of a midnight deadline, setting up a Senate vote over funding the federal government for another 45 days.
Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from Ottumwa, took the House floor to voice support for the 45-day stopgap funding bill, which includes disaster relief funds, but does not include new aid for Ukraine.
“Shutting down the government should be a last resort,” Miller-Meeks said. “My priority has always been to protect and represent my constituents to the best of my ability and I cannot justify shutting down our entire government over obscure policy decisions.”
Shutting down the government should be a last resort. My priority has always been to protect and represent my constituents to the best of my ability and I cannot justify shutting down our entire government over obscure policy decisions. Watch my full remarks here: pic.twitter.com/o0sv0Ju4k0
— Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (@RepMMM) September 30, 2023
Miller-Meeks and the rest of Iowa’s U.S. House delegation previously voted Friday on a failed last-ditch plan to keep the federal government temporarily open that included 30 percent discretionary spending cut to most domestic programs and border security provisions.
Democrats argue that will lead to dramatic cuts to an array of vital programs like federal housing subsidies, Head Start, loan and grant programs for farmers, and many others. The resolution also included a Republican measure to codify controversial Trump-era border policies that would make various changes to immigration law, including by imposing limits on asylum eligibility, which are a nonstarter with the Democratically-controlled Senate and White House.
Saturday’s House-passed bill removes cuts and border provision that House Republicans had been pushing for months.
The measure buys House Republicans more time to broker funding bills with the Senate.
“I supported today’s short-term measure to keep the government open while the House continues to pass single-subject appropriations bills,” Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, said in a statement. “ … I will continue working around the clock to keep our government open, bring conservative, fiscally responsible spending bills across the finish line, and work to make this place run better for taxpayers.”
Miller-Meeks, speaking on the House floor, said government shutdowns have real consequences for countless Americans, and mentioned her father, who was an enlisted master sergeant in the Air Force.
“I grew up watching my dad at the kitchen table calculate how long it would take to mail a bill so it would it would get there on time after his one single paycheck a month came in,” she said in a statement following her vote. “A lapse in pay for our military families and veterans means going without food. These are real people that would have been affected by the political games both sides in Washington were playing.
“I’m glad that came together and reached an agreement to fund the government, and I will continue to work to pass legislation that strengthens our military and our border.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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