White House asks Congress for short-term funding to avoid shutdown

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday asked Congress to pass a short-term measure to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown at the end of September.

A spokesperson with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget said a short-term continuing resolution will be needed in the next month, keeping government funding at its current levels while negotiations continue over longer-term appropriations bills.

Funding for the federal government is set to run out on Sept. 30 unless action is taken by Congress. With a month to go until the deadline, the Republican-led House of Representatives has only managed to pass one of the 12 bills needed to fund the government, according to Reuters.

Deep divisions remain between the parties with Republicans looking to implement large spending cuts unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden requested a stopgap measure to cover standard government programs and an additional $40 billion — $24 billion for Ukraine and other foreign policy challenges, nearly $4 billion for border and migration issues and $12 billion for disaster relief to boost the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Biden warned against a government shutdown while visiting FEMA headquarters Thursday in Washington, D.C., stressing the effect it would have on agencies.

“It would be a serious, serious problem,” Biden said.

Leaders of both parties have signaled an openness to a continuing resolution. Both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed openness to the idea earlier this month.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday said the current budget negotiations are “a pretty big mess.”

“I think we’re going to end up with a short-term congressional resolution, probably into December as we struggle to figure out exactly what the government’s spending level is going to be,” McConnell said.