Senate Blocks Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

Yesterday, Senate Republicans voted to block a bill to suspend the nation’s debt limit. Government funding is set to expire on September 30th and with the bill being blocked, Congress has been left without a clear plan to keep the government open. The bill which was approved by the House of Representatives last week would have extended funding and kept the government open through December 3rd and it’s measures also included a debt limit suspension through December 16 of next year.

The Senate voted on a procedural motion to advance the legislation which needed 60 votes to succeed. Since Democrats control 50 seats in the chamber only 10 Republicans would have needed to vote in favor of the bill. The bill failed on a 48-50 party-line vote with no Republicans siding with Democrats. After the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised ‘further action’ this week to prevent a shutdown but didn’t outline a plan.