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In Congress: Looming Government Shutdown
As the Federal Government’s current fiscal year ends this Saturday on September 30th at midnight, Congress is racing against the clock to divert a potential government shutdown. If Congress does not come to an agreement on spending (either to temporarily extend the current fiscal year spending levels through a continuing resolution or “CR” or by passing all twelve of the FY24 Appropriations bills) by this Saturday, the government will shut down on October 1st.
Government shutdowns are not without precedent. In fact, in the past 10 years alone, the federal government has fully or partially shut down three other times, including most recently in 2018-19 when the federal government partially shut down for 35 days–the longest such government shutdown in history.
You may recall that back in June, the White House and Congressional Republicans reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling. That deal also included an agreement on spending caps for FY24. In accordance with the June debt ceiling deal, the Senate has advanced FY24 spending bills on a bipartisan basis, but the major reason that a shutdown starting this weekend remains highly likely because a small faction of House Republicans have deviated from the June spending caps agreement and are now seeking additional cuts well beyond the cuts already agreed upon by Congress and the White House earlier this year. Their proposed cuts are a non-starter for Senate Democrats and the President. Both the Senate and House continue to negotiate various spending proposals this week, but time is quickly running out. Some of the sticking points in the negotiations include challenging issues like border funding for the Southern Border, natural disaster relief funding, aid for the ongoing war in Ukraine, and, of course, major disagreement on overall spending levels and proposed spending cuts across various programs.
Although government shutdowns have historically only lasted a few days up to a few weeks, it can actually cost the federal government billions of dollars to shut down and then reopen. In addition to hundreds of thousands of “non-essential” federal employees being furloughed from their jobs, some essential government services are discontinued during these periods–including some food assistance programs, National Park operations, disruptions to critical law enforcement, national security, and military agencies. The WFRC Team is keeping a close watch on this issue.
One bright spot is that many federal transportation programs (including FHWA highway programs) are funded through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), rather than through the annual appropriations process. As a result, these programs won’t be immediately impacted by a government shutdown. Additionally, under the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), many federal transit programs were also modified to be funded through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and should not be impacted directly by this potential shutdown.
Representative Chris Stewart Resigns from Congress
Earlier this month, Representative Stewart left the halls of Congress after announcing his retirement earlier in the year due to familial obligations, further requiring a special congressional election. I can personally speak to the leadership and character of Representative Stewart as I was part of the “Stew-Crew” as an intern in his Washington D.C. office.
We share our sincere appreciation from the WFRC team to Representative Stewart and his excellent staff over his 10 years in Congress.
Senator Mitt Romney Not to Seek Reelection
Utah politicos were waiting with bated breath to learn if Senator Mitt Romney would seek another term in the Senate. Earlier this month, Romney announced that he would not seek another term, citing his desire for a new generation of leaders to take the helm. Currently, both Mayor Trent Staggs of Riverton and Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, Brad Wilson, have announced their candidacy for the seat. Wilson also announced that he will step down from the Legislature on November 15th. Notably, Congressman John Curtis has stated that he is seriously considering a run. We will likely see several other candidates join this race, making it a potentially crowded GOP primary field.
2nd Congressional District Special Election
Relevant since my last Government Affairs update, and in case you missed it, the Municipal and 2nd Congressional Special Primary Election was held on Tuesday, September 5th. Celeste Maloy, a former aide to Congressman Chris Stewart, won the Republican primary for Utah’s 2nd District. With the backing of Congressman Stewart and the Utah Republican Party, she prevailed over former state Rep. Becky Edwards and former state party chair and party national committeeman Bruce Hough. Celeste will face Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe and a handful of third-party candidates in November.
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