The White House Office of Management and Budget on Thursday began its initial communications to agencies on how to prepare for a possible government shutdown, a source familiar with the plans said, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill have yet to settle on a plan to avoid a shutdown by November 17.
The communications are part of the standard procedure laying out the steps toward bringing non-essential government functions to a halt.
“One week prior to the expiration of appropriations bills, regardless of whether the enactment of appropriations appears imminent, OMB will communicate with agency senior officials to remind agencies of their responsibilities to review and update orderly shutdown plans, and will share a draft communication template to notify employees of the status of appropriations,” a budget circular document from the Office of Management and Budget states.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday took the first procedural step to put a government funding bill on the floor that the chamber could pass to avoid a shutdown.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a trip to Illinois, President Joe Biden called on the House of Representatives to “get to work” as a shutdown draws closer.
“An extreme Republican shutdown would force service members and law enforcement officers to work without pay, risk significant delays for travelers, undermine public health, and cut off funding for small businesses.
Departments and agencies began winding down operations in the final week of September as Congress barreled toward a shutdown, which was averted just hours before the deadline when then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy put a stopgap measure on the floor – a move that ended up costing him the speakership.
The government shutdown for a record 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019 amid a congressional stalemate over funding for then-President Donald Trump’s border wall.
And in 2013, then-President Barack Obama presided over a 16-day partial government shutdown caused by a dispute over the Affordable Care Act and other budget disagreements.
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