House Passes Stopgap Budget That Would Prevent Government Shutdown Until Dec. 11

Late Tuesday, the House approved 359-57-1 a stopgap budget bill to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) voted “present” instead of yes or no.

The measure must pass through the Senate and be signed by President Donald Trump by Oct. 1 to allow U.S. agencies to continue to operate. It would effectively be in place through Dec. 11.

The deal, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said was negotiated with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, would add about $8 million in food and nutrition assistance programs.

“We have reached an agreement with Republicans on the CR to add nearly $8 billion in desperately needed nutrition assistance for hungry schoolchildren and families,” Pelosi said in a statement. “We also increase accountability in the Commodity Credit Corporation, preventing funds for farmers from being misused for a Big Oil bailout.”

She continued, “To help the millions of families struggling to keep food on the table during the pandemic, Democrats have renewed the vital, expiring lifeline of Pandemic EBT for a full year and enabled our fellow Americans in the territories to receive this critical nutrition assistance. Democrats secured urgently needed assistance for schoolchildren to receive meals despite the coronavirus’s disruption of their usual schedules, whether virtual or in-person, and expanded Pandemic EBT access for young children in child care. We also extended key flexibility for states to lower administrative requirements on SNAP for families in the middle of this crisis.”

The bill also gave a concession to Republican lawmakers — funding for farmers and the agriculture community.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that the Commodity Credit Corporation was a requisite for GOP support.

“House Democrats’ rough draft of a government funding bill shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need,” he tweeted. “This is no time to add insult to injury and defund help for farmers and rural America.”

McConnell praised the Republican lawmakers in the House for pushing to get the Commodity Credit Corporation funding included, tweeting that “our farmers and ranchers depend on” it.