WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday passed a stopgap spending measure to avert another government shutdown before the Friday deadline.
In a 68-13 vote, Senators advanced a continuing resolution to extend government funding deadlines to March 1 and March 8.
"If the majority of senators and representatives continue working in good faith, Democrats and Republicans, we're going to keep the government open," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) on the Senate floor Wednesday.
This is not the first time lawmakers have kicked the can down the road. The Congressional Archive reports that Congress has passed 200 continuing resolutions (CR) dating back to 1977.
And, while a CR is better than a shutdown, it is most certainly not an ideal solution, says Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia).
"A CR basically says, we can't make up our mind about that we want to do with the budget, so let's just do what we did last year. It's like driving by looking through the rear-view mirror instead of the windshield," said Kaine, during an availability with the news media on Wednesday.
The Senate Armed Services Committee member continued: "In the national security space, CRs are particularly dangerous because global conditions change. Then it's hard to operate under a CR, you don't necessarily have the ability to re-program monies between accounts. So, you're stuck with last year and that's not what you ought to do to face today's reality."
Hard-line conservatives in the House have signaled that they oppose the bipartisan CR.
House Freedom Caucus shared on X: "This is what surrender looks like."