Hope fading as government shutdown deadline approaches

SALT LAKE CITY — Barring an unforeseen set of circumstances at the last moment, the country will enter a government shutdown beginning this weekend. 

A last-second plan by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., failed Friday afternoon. His plan would have funded the government for an additional 30 days which would have given lawmakers more time to find a solution.

Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, discusses with KSL NewsRadio what comes next.

At this time of the year, Moore says there are two important things that take place. He says the first thing is to pass the 12 appropriations bills, which are used to fund the government. Or, he says, a continuing resolution has to be signed to extend the timeline for lawmakers.

As of Friday afternoon, Moore says the House has only passed four of the 12 bills. 

“The Senate hasn’t finalized theirs yet either,” Moore said. 

If some sort of resolution isn’t reached by Oct. 1, the government will go into a shutdown. 

Moore says a continuing resolution bill failed to pass in the House on Friday, the plan proposed by Speaker McCarthy. 

“We’ve now sabotaged our ability to do that,” he said of avoiding a shutdown. “…We would have otherwise used this moment to accomplish two things – keep those individuals paid.”

Moore represents people who work at Hill Air Force Base and the IRS Processing Center.

“These folks are still going to continue to do their jobs, and they are going to show up to a zero-dollar paycheck,” Moore said. “… until Congress gets their act together and figures this out.”

So, what happens next with a government shutdown?

House Democrats appear to be on board with resolution being talked about in the Senate.

“Here’s the part to remember,” Moore said. “Any bill that is going to pass in divided government has to have support from both sides of the aisle. The Senate bill easily obtained that.” 

The Utah representative believes some sort of resolution could be reached by early next week.

“I think early next week, you’ll see some of these versions that could ultimately be signed into law get some attention,” Moore said. “And this weekend, it will be just a little bit more of jockeying going around.”

Inside Sources with Boyd Matheson can be heard weekdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app. 

Read more:

• IRS employees in Ogden worry about potential government shutdown
• WIC benefits in Utah will continue through October regardless of government shutdown

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