Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed a government funding resolution drafted by House Democrats on Monday, leaving the United St...
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed a government funding resolution drafted by House Democrats on Monday, leaving the United States vulnerable to a government shutdown weeks before the November election.
The clock is ticking for the the U.S. Senate and Congress to agree on a new funding package with just nine days before it ends at midnight on September 30.
The Senate and House must approve identical versions of the bill for it to be signed by President Trump, but one of his closest allies blasted a drafted resolution from House Democrats as 'shameful.'
House Democrats on Monday revealed a short-term spending bill that would extend funding for through December 11. It would stall the potential shutdown of certain operations for vital government agencies like The Pentagon.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (pictured) criticized a short-term spending bill presented by House Democrats on Monday as 'shameful'
But the draft did not include the $30billion in funds the Trump administration and Senate Republicans wanted for farmers.
Republicans have sought to keep up a bailout program for American farmers that faced criticism from Democrats.
Trump repeatedly vowed to uplift Americans farmers during his 2016 presidential campaign, and while in the Oval Office has ordered billions of dollars in emergency aid.
Democrats have said the bailout money is akin to a political payoff to farmers who were hurt by his global trade work.
The Trump administration's trade wars caused a negative fallout for farmers, prompting him to provide aid, and the arrival of the COVID-19 dealt another crushing blow.
McConnell, a fierce support of Trump and loyal ally, blasted the House Democrats' draft for that very reason on Twitter.
'House Democrats’ rough draft of a government funding bill shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need.' write McConnel.
'This is no time to add insult to injury and defund help for farmers and rural America.'
Pictured: Mitch McConnell said in a tweet on Monday that the House Democrats' draft left out key relief aid for farmers
Earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin agreed to pass a short-term spending bill void of 'poison pills,' or contentious measures that could halt its enactment.
The Washington Post reports that the two seemed to have reached a tentative agreement to use the farm bailout money for school children affected by the pandemic.
But Republicans alleged that Pelosi pulled out of the deal, while Democrats insisted there wasn't really a formalized deal in the first place.
The draft on Monday reignited embattled partisan alliances that, if not rectified, could spiral the United States into a government shutdown amid a undeniably difficult point in history.
As Republicans and Democrats pursued discussions over the funding package, more than 6.8million Americans were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 and 200,000 had died.
The Trump administration has directed billions in relief aid to Americans farmers amid his trade wars and the COVID-19 pandemic
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured) died on Friday from pancreatic cancer, leaving a Supreme Court seat vacant just weeks before the November election
Businesses continued to struggle as state's were forced to navigate restarting their local economies with little guidance from the federal government.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 13.6 million Americans were unemployed in August.
Additionally, tensions among civilians and Americans remained as people continued to protest police brutality and racial inequality after the death of many black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
Wildfires have inundated the West Coast, with millions of acres being scorched and residents displaced from their homes.
And Washington D.C. is still reeling from the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday and vacated a Supreme Court seat just weeks before the November election.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (pictured): 'None of us has any interest in shutting down government, that has such a harmful and shameful impact on so many people in our country'
In a statement, Pelosi implored her Republican colleagues to accept Democrat's bill.
'The continuing resolution introduced today will avert a catastrophic shutdown in the middle of the ongoing pandemic, wildfires and hurricanes, and keep government open until December 11, when we plan to have bipartisan legislation to fund the government for this fiscal year,' she said.
On Sunday, Pelosi denounced an insinuation that Democrats were using the spending bill as leverage to stop Republicans from filing the seat as soon as possible.
'None of us has any interest in shutting down government, that has such a harmful and shameful impact on so many people in our country,' Pelosi told ABC's 'This Week.'
The House may pass the legislation as early as Tuesday to pass along to the
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