Bipartisan group of senators reintroduce bill to eliminate government shutdowns amid budget battles

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A group of bipartisan senators introduced a bill that would eliminate the possibility of government shutdowns by requiring Congress members to stay in Washington, D.C., until agreements are made on the annual budget.

Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the “Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2023” on Monday, seeking to avoid future government shutdowns over disagreements on federal spending. By eliminating the option to halt government operations, the bill would allow critical services and operations to continue until spending legislation is approved.

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“The most basic duty of Congress is to responsibly appropriate taxpayer dollars, but Washington has continued to max out the debt ceiling, cut corners, pile debt on American families, and think only of its own short-term interests,” Scott said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that Congress’s dysfunction is harming hardworking Americans and their livelihoods. Shutting down the government cannot continue to be another leverage tool for Washington politicians.”

Lawmakers introduced a similar bill in February 2019, shortly after a 35-day government shutdown during the Trump administration that was the longest in U.S. history. That shutdown occurred after lawmakers failed to come to an agreement to fund construction of the wall at the southern border.

However, that version of the bill failed to make it to the floor for a vote.

Under the newly proposed legislation, members of Congress would be required to stay in Washington, D.C., until a spending bill is approved. If lawmakers cannot come to an agreement before the budget deadline, the legislation would enact an automatic 14-day continuing resolution allowing current spending levels to continue until a budget is passed.

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The bill comes as Congress is expected to engage in dragged-out negotiations over government spending in the coming months as the Democratic-led Senate and GOP-led House must come to agreements on the annual budget as well as how to address the debt ceiling crisis.

The United States hit its debt limit on Jan. 19, beginning a countdown for the Treasury to miss paying its bills and raising fears of a default. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the department would take “extraordinary measures” to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations, but the Treasury will only have a few months before those measures are exhausted.

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