Schumer Warns of Government Shutdown Ahead of Sept. 30 Deadline

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the importance of avoiding a government shutdown on Sept. 30, as lawmakers return to Washington after the August break with the US election ahead in November.

In a letter to his Democratic colleagues on Sunday, Schumer said his party favors a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution, and called on Republicans to support a bipartisan effort.

“We will not let poison pills or Republican extremism put funding for critical programs at risk,” Schumer said in the letter released by his office.

He said there’s potential for bipartisan lawmaking to come on the annual defense authorization bill, rail safety, lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs, and artificial intelligence.

House Republicans last week offered their version of a stopgap funding measure that includes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a bill to require proof of US citizenship to vote. 

President Joe Biden’s administration has said it opposes the measure, saying it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and that states have effective safeguards in place.

Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, said the measure has “become a partisan issue, which is amazing to me.”

“But I don’t think there’s going to be a shutdown,” he said on Fox News Sunday.

The likelihood of a government shutdown is low because election-year concerns about a stalemate are likely to push congressional leaders to a continuing resolution that extends into early December, Bloomberg Intelligence said in a note on Sept. 5.

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