Six-Month Stopgap Measure Reached to Prevent Gov’t Shutdown

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced they had reached an agreement on a Continuing Resolution (CR). According to The Hill, the CR has also been agreed to by the White House.

The (CR) will extend government funding for six months. Many conservatives wanted a six month extension to ensure a lame duck session of Congress did not lead to more spending increases. This CR ensures there will not be a government shutdown before the November elections. 

“This agreement reached between the Senate, the House and the White House provides stability for the coming months, when we will have to resolve critical issues that directly affect middle-class families,” Reid said in a statement. “I hope that we can face the challenges ahead in the same spirit of compromise.”

The six-month CR will allow Congress to spend the lame duck session dealing with the Bush Tax Cut extension and defense cuts, which are set to take place on Jan. 2 if no agreement is reached between Democrats and Republicans. 

Reid and Democrats have indicated they are willing to play politics with the defense cuts and even risk taking the country over the fiscal cliff by letting the Bush tax cuts expire.

Some Tea Party groups still expressed displeasure at the lack of spending cuts in the CR. 

“Mr. Boehner and Mr. Reid, you might not have built our country, but your lack of guts is destroying it,” said Jenny Beth Martin, leader of Tea Party Patriots, in a statement.