By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves doesn’t believe there is going to be a federal government shutdown at the end of this month, though he doesn’t want to see the budget battle pushed off on the new Congress.
Graves, a Republican, sees the House, which is controlled by Republicans, and the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, reaching an agreement over the next few days.
“I don’t think there’s any real appetite for a government shutdown on either side of the aisle,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “I think we will get our spending bills done. But that’s always risky, particularly when we have a very narrow margin like we have now, because it takes a few people to shut the process down if the two parties can’t get along. So, I think we’ll see an agreement between Democrats and Republicans.”
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, floated a proposal that would have extended current funding levels for six months, letting the next Congress deal with the issue. The proposal failed with 220 voting against and 202 voting in favor. Opponents objected to adding a provision added to the spending measure that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
Graves says he’s willing to go along with Johnson’s proposal to extend current spending to March, but would rather the issue be decided by this Congress.
“I would rather it were done; not wait for the next Congress, because you don’t know what that is going to look like,” Graves says. “I would rather have a shorter-term CR (continuing resolution).”
The timeframe Graves favors would extend current federal spending only a couple of months.
“I would like to see it, personally, at the end of November, first of December,” Graves says.
But why?
“Because it gives us an opportunity to do something before the end of the year, before the new Congress sits.”
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