Hoyer Introduces Four-Day CR to Fund Government
Minority whip claims stopgap measure would end the ‘Trump shutdown’
House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer introduced and tried to request a vote on a four-day continuing resolution to end the government shutdown while putting pressure on Republicans to expeditiously reach an agreement with Democrats on a broader spending package.
Hoyer’s unanimous consent request to bring up the four-day CR was not entertained because the House was currently debating a rule to provide authority to bring a bill to the floor the same day it is reported out of the Rules Committee without the need for a two-thirds vote.
“For months, House Democrats have been urging Republicans to reach agreement on issues that we agree on: a budget agreement that adheres to parity, protecting DREAMers, reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program and other critical health care programs, and providing disaster relief to our fellow Americans,” the Maryland Democrat said in a statement.
“Despite the consensus for such an agreement, Republicans have wasted the past four months and refused to compromise. As a result, they shut down the government they control,” he said.
Hoyer said his four-day CR gives Republicans a change to end “the Trump shutdown” while continuing negotiations on the aforementioned priorities, which he noted are bipartisan.
“Given the urgent need to address each of them, we are not going to give Republicans additional weeks to waste on their right-wing agenda and kick the can down the road one more time,” he said.
House Democrats are opposing the plan Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pitching for a CR through Feb. 8.