WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Congress is racing to approve a short-term spending bill and avoid a government shutdown ahead of a winter storm that is set to hit the nation’s capital.
As Friday’s shutdown looms, the House is currently taking up the bill to avoid a government shutdown.
“No chaos, no spectacle, no shutdown,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Congress is moving forward to keep the government open until early March.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says failing to fund the government would hurt veterans, farmers, and middle-class families. West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito agrees.
“If we shut the government down it’s a road to nowhere, no one benefits,” said Moore Capito.
Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul slammed his colleagues for passing a stop-gap bill instead of a long-term federal spending plan.
“We are gathered once again to kick the can down the road,” he said.
Even with the agreement to keep the government open for now, lawmakers and President Joe Biden are battling over a separate national security package that would include funding for Ukraine, Israel and the southern border.
“I think the vast majority of members of Congress support aid to Ukraine,” said Biden.
After a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House Thursday, the president said he’s optimistic a deal will be reached soon.
