There is little consensus in Washington on spending following August recess

With just three weeks left to avert a federal government shutdown on Oct. 1, lawmakers and the White House remain deadlocked over the terms--and length--of a short-term deal to fund federal agencies.

The GOP-controlled House last weekend unveiled its proposal for a stopgap continuing resolution, which would keep federal agencies funded at fiscal 2024 levels for six months, as well as enact unrelated an unrelated bill requiring Americans provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, a nonstarter for Democrats in part because, they have said, it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote.

The Biden administration and Democratic leadership in the Senate have already rejected the plan. In addition to the voter ID provisions, they objected to the long length of the measure—Biden and his allies prefer a two-month deal—as well as the House’s failure to include proposed budget anomalies that would increase funding at the Veterans Affairs Department and Social Security Administration.

In a fact sheet sent to reporters Sunday, the Office of Management and Budget warned that absent an anomaly to cover a projected funding shortfall for VA, the department likely would be forced to lay off employees.

“Absent fully addressing a shortfall in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care, VA would be forced to make difficult tradeoffs in its efforts to preserve quality veteran care,” OMB wrote. “VA would need to undertake reductions in overall staffing levels that may impact access to care for veterans across clinical programs. Veteran experience may be impacted across many different functional areas, including medical care scheduling and coordination, connecting homeless veterans to permanent housing, caregiver support and other programs.”

And for the second time in as many weeks, the administration said that unless Congress adopts the president’s full budget request for the Social Security Administration, the agency’s workforce will fall to a 50-year low, exacerbating the embattled agency’s customer service crisis.

And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a “Dear Colleague” letter Sunday suggesting that his chamber will summarily reject the House’s plan.

“Democrats support a CR to keep the government open. As I have said before, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way,” Schumer wrote. “Despite Republican bluster, that is how we’ve handled every funding bill in the past, and this time should be no exception.”

Prior to this weekend, lawmakers and observers had speculated that the odds of a shutdown were relatively low this year, in no small part due to the impending 2024 election in November.

Although many initially suspected that the House’s plan amounted to a “messaging bill,” in an effort to force Democrats in vulnerable districts to vote on the GOP’s voter ID legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly unnerved some of his caucus in comments on a conference call Monday, according to Politico.

“There is no fallback position,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “This is a righteous fight.”