Senate Will Vote Today on Reopening Government

By
Richard C. Young
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Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, U.S. Senator John Thune, U.S. Representative Kristi Noem, and State Secretary of Agriculture Mike Jaspers tours the Black Hills National Forest to view the Pine Beetle infestation in South Dakota, on May 19, 2017. Tour is led by U.S. Senator John Thune. Additional information about the initial infestation and actions that have encouraged new growth and recovery are provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) personnel and Neiman Enterprises, Inc. President and CEO Jim D. Neiman. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has announced the chamber will vote today on reopening the government. Eric Mack reports in Newsmax:

The Senate will vote Wednesday on legislation to reopen the federal government, according to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who expressed optimism that additional Democrat support could break the funding impasse.

“We picked up three tonight when we voted on this,” Thune said in a TV interview, adding that Republicans hope to secure more votes in the next round. “Eventually, we’ll get enough to pass this thing in the Senate and keep the government open.”

The Senate will vote again on the Democrats bill funding government through Oct. 31 with an extension of expiring Obamacare tax credits followed by the House-passed GOP bill funding government through Nov. 21.

Both bills were defeated Tuesday night: Democrats’ 47-53 right down party lines; and Republicans’ 55-45, with three Democrats crossing the aisle to vote to keep the government open with the continuing resolution at former President Joe Biden’s spending levels.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, all voted for the Republican stopgap spending bill. Senate Republicans would need four more Democrats to join them to avoid a shutdown, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voting against the continuing resolution, but might not stand in the way Wednesday.

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