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September 28, 2023

U.S. Gov't on Cusp of Shutdown Amid Republican House Dysfunction
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The U.S. government appears to be barreling toward another shutdown as
House Speaker Kevin Mc Carthy is refusing to bring a Senate stopgap bill
to the floor for a vote and does not have enough support to pass his own
short-term House measure. Many Republicans oppose the short-term Senate
bill, in part because it contains aid for Ukraine and disaster relief.
Mc Carthy remains beholden to the far-right faction of his caucus, which
is pushing for steep cuts to social spending that would hit essential
food programs, education and housing. Missouri Democratic Congressmember
Cori Bush said, "MAGA Math is cutting food assistance for millions of
children and families while simultaneously increasing tax cuts for
billionaires. Once again, Republicans' greed is taking the food out of
hungry children's mouths. Shameful." Mc Carthy had previously agreed to
current spending levels as part of the debt-ceiling deal.

Meanwhile, government workers are bracing to again lose their paychecks.
This is Everett Kelley, head of the union representing federal workers.

Everett Kelley: "It's a detriment to our economy. It's a detriment to
our communities and to the workforce. And we need to be stable. We need
to be able to know that we got a job and that we're able to provide for
our families."

The government will shut at midnight on Saturday if no deal is reached.

Meanwhile, far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene passed an
amendment to the defense bill to reduce U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin's salary to $1.


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