WASHINGTON–With credit unions across the country continuing to provide financial assistance to affected members, the Senate has voted 60-40 to take the initial steps toward ending the federal government shutdown, which has been going on since Oct. 1.
The agreement, which still requires approval in the House and would need to be signed by President Trump, also comes as credit unions nationally have stepped up their efforts to support food banks across the country that have been strained by both unpaid federal workers and the suspension of SNAP benefits, as the CU Daily reports here in its latest update.
For the government to re-open, members of the House will need to return to Washington and go into session for the first time in 50 days. Ironically, some members’ travel is likely to be affected by the slowdown in air traffic due to the strained air traffic control system caused by the shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he will swear into office Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), which he has declines to do to date, after she won a special election. That will give the House 219 Republicans and 214 Democrats.
Restoration of CDFI Fund Staff
The three spending bills in the Senate that were released on Sunday omit most of the deep spending cuts that the president had proposed in his budget this year. But the restoration of funding would include the rehiring of employees with Treasury responsible for overseeing the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. Congress has already appropriated money for the fund, but Treasury’s move to fire the workers left no one to process applications. More than 400 credit unions are CDFIs.
The agreement to open the government followed agreement by a group of Democrats to a package that would fund multiple agencies and programs for the full fiscal year, and all others until Jan. 30, 2026.
In exchange, Democrats have a commitment from the Trump administration to rehire government workers fired at the start of the funding lapse, and the promise of a Senate floor vote in December on legislation to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits, according to Politico.
The Senate package, however, does not include any mention of the health care subsidies that Democrats made a centerpiece of their fight in the shutdown.
Eight Democrats Break With Party
The 60 votes in the Senate that favored advancing a House-passed stopgap measure required eight Democrats to break with their party’s position, and will now pave the way for consideration of funding that will affect credit union members in numerous ways, including money for the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress for all of current fiscal year .
All other agencies would be funded through Jan. 30, according to the text of a continuing resolution released Sunday, Politico reported. The agreement still needs to pass the House before the government can be reopened.
“There are still additional steps before the Senate can pass the funding deal, but Sunday’s vote sent a strong signal that Senate GOP leaders now have the necessary support in their chamber to pass legislation to end the longest shutdown in history,” said Politico.
Rehiring Laid-Off Employees
For CU members who have turned to their credit unions for loan relief and other assistance, the shutdown-ending agreement guarantees that federal employees laid off during the shutdown are rehired and gives federal employees back pay, and also requires agencies to give written notice to Congress about the withdrawal of the layoff notices issued during the funding lapse, plus details on the amount of back pay owed.
The Senate is expected to leave for a previously scheduled weeklong recess as soon as it can clear the funding package
