Speaker Mike Johnson Unveils Unique Plan to Prevent Government Shutdown

Government Shutdown Prevention: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Unique Plan

Source: The New York Post

Speaker Mike Johnson Proposes Unconventional Plan to Prevent Government Shutdown

Speaker Mike Johnson of the House announced a unique short-term spending plan on Saturday to prevent a government shutdown. The proposed bill, known as the Continuing Resolution, aims to provide support for uncontroversial federal government budget items until January 19th, while extending the spending for other programs until February 2nd.

A Two-Step Approach to Position House Republicans

Johnson described the two-step structure as a necessary bill to position House Republicans for conservative victories. The bill aims to break away from the tradition of passing massive spending bills during the holiday season right before the Christmas recess. Johnson argued in a post on X that this bill will prevent the unreasonable pattern of bloated omnibus spending bills during imminent government shutdown situations, which do not allow for discussions on specific budget items.

Fiscal Conservatives Seek Individual Funding Bills

Fiscal conservatives, instead, want the House and Senate to negotiate and pass 12 individual funding bills that address different parts of the federal government. This approach aims to provide more transparency and allow for specific budget item discussions.

No Additional Funding for Israel and Ukraine

It is important to note that the proposed bill does not include additional funding for Israel or the separate discussion on Ukraine that Johnson has advocated for.

Efforts to Prevent Government Shutdown

With a slim majority of 9 votes, House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, will attempt to pass the bill on Tuesday, just three days before federal spending is set to halt at midnight on Friday. The proposal has faced criticism from Karen Jean-Pierre, a White House Deputy Press Secretary, who described it as “not serious” and a recipe for more confusion and shutdowns.

The article is from The New York Post.