Legislation reintroduced by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) would permanently avert government shutdowns by creating an automatic continuing resolution (CR) for every appropriations bill or standing CR.
Under the End Government Shutdowns Act, an automatic CR would be created for regular appropriations bills that aren’t completed by the Oct. 1 deadline. CR funding would be reduced by 1 percent after the first 120 days, and by 1 percent every 90 days thereafter until Congress completes the annual appropriations process.
“Almost everybody hates government shutdowns,” Portman said. “They don’t accomplish anything. They don’t get our fiscal house in order and they disrupt critical government programs that have a big impact on people’s lives. As leverage in a political negotiation, they’re fool’s gold. We should end government shutdowns for good. My legislation would do that, giving federal workers and their families more stability, providing lawmakers with more time to make smarter decisions for taxpayers, and ensuring we avoid disruptions that ultimately hurt our economy and working families.”
Six government shutdowns occurred from 1976 to 1979, nine shutdowns occurred from 1981 to 1990, and additional shutdowns occurred in 1995 and 2013. The 2013 shutdown cost the American economy an estimated $20 billion, Moody’s Investors Service reports.
Portman has introduced the legislation in every Congress since he was first elected in 2010. U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are original cosponsors of the latest version.
Speaking in support the measure, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said Washington’s “govern-by-crisis strategy” must be stopped.
“We need to have a real conversation about bloated government spending not just when the clock runs out,” Daines said. “Montanans deserve certainty.”