Senate set to consider pair of spending bills with shutdown looming

The Senate is expected to vote on a pair of stopgap spending packages on Friday as lawmakers seek a way to avert a government shutdown ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.

Early in the day, the House is set to vote and potentially pass the GOP’s seven-week “clean” continuing resolution (CR), sending it over to the upper chamber in the process. 

That would set the stage for the twin votes, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announcing the plan late on Thursday.

“We are going to do that,” Thune told reporters.

Both bills are expected to fail. Thune added that he would then move to reconsider the GOP and would set up additional votes to be held closer to the deadline. 

Thune also said that it is “unlikely” the Senate will return next week. The chamber is set to be on recess next week for the Jewish High Holidays and reconvene on Sept. 29. 

The Republican plan would fund the government until Nov. 21 at Fiscal 2024 spending levels. It would be done with an eye toward allowing appropriators to work out a year-long spending deal for the remainder of Fiscal 2026. 

As for the Democratic plan, it would restore nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts that were included in the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” over the summer and includes a permanent extension of enhanced health insurance premium subsidies.

The latter part was part of the Affordable Care Act and is set to expire at the end of the year, with Democrats making it the hallmark of their funding push. 

“The contrast between the Democratic budget proposal and the Republican proposal is glaring. The Republicans want the same old status quo — rising costs, declining health care. Democrats want to meet people’s needs by improving health care and lowering costs, in health care and many other places,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) told reporters on Wednesday while unveiling the plan.

Thune and Republicans have insisted the subsidies are not up for negotiation, especially in a bill to keep the government open for less than two months. 

They have repeatedly urged Democrats to back the “clean” bill, noting that they have done so more than a dozen times in recent years.