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Democrat Under Investigation for Pulling Fire Alarm to Delay Vote to Avoid Gov’t Shutdown

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Democrat Under Investigation for Pulling Fire Alarm to Delay Vote to Avoid Gov’t Shutdown

By Breitbart. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) ripped down two signs warning a second floor door in the Cannon House Office Building was for emergency use only before pulling the fire alarm and running out through a different door on a different floor, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

Multiple sources familiar with the investigation into Bowman pulling the fire alarm in the House, which triggered a full scale law enforcement and emergency services response leading to the evacuation of the building, told Breitbart News exclusively that Bowman ripped two signs down and threw then on the ground first.

The sources familiar with the investigation provided Breitbart News with photographs of the scene of the alleged crime later after the emergency door had been restored after the damage Bowman did to it.

In the photos of the double doors with glass windows, there are clearly two giant red signs on the door—they both say “EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY—PUSH UNTIL ALARM SOUNDS (3 SECONDS) DOOR WILL UNLOCK IN 30 SECONDS.”

There is also another sign on a stand in front of the door that makes it clear this is an “EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY.” (Read more from “Democrat Under Investigation for Pulling Fire Alarm to Delay Vote to Avoid Gov’t Shutdown” HERE)

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NY Democrat Sets off Fire Alarm During Shutdown Talks

By Bloomberg. A fire alarm went off in a Capitol Hill building Saturday, adding to the tension as US lawmakers worked to hash out a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown.

Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, is accused of pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building, where some members of Congress have their offices. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he would seek an ethics investigation into the incident, which Bowman said was a “mistake.”

“This should not go without punishment,” McCarthy told reporters.

Bowman told reporters he had been trying to open a door. “It was a mistake. That’s all it was,” he said. “McCarthy is trying to weaponize an innocent mistake.”

“I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote,” Bowman said in a statement late Saturday. “It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.” (Read more from “NY Democrat Sets off Fire Alarm During Shutdown Talks” HERE)

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GOP Caves Again, No Government Shutdown; Major Financial Institutions Guessed Wrong

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By Patrick Reilly, Jon Levine and Rich Calder. Congress passed a last-minute, short-term funding bill and President Joe Biden signed it just before midnight, according to reports.

The Senate approved the stopgap funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, by a final vote of 88-9, hours after the House passed it 335-91, with votes from both sides of the isle.

Biden finally signed it with just minutes to go before many government operations would have shut down. . .

The deal will increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion and keep the government open until at least November 17 — however it notably did not include new funding to Ukraine that was proposed under an earlier plan, which became a point of contention among Senate Democrats. . .

Republican holdouts argued that a CR is essentially an extension of the previous Democratically-held Congress’ priorities, and slap to the House GOP majority’s vow to pass 12 individual spending bills laying out conservative priorities in the next fiscal year. (Read more about the last minute deal HERE).

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Last Week’s Prediction: Shutdown Will Happen

By Townhall. At this point, we should expect the government to shut down on October 1. Congress has until September 30 to pass a spending measure to keep the lights on in the Capitol Building, but Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he won’t bring up the House’s plan to present a shutdown until tomorrow. The Senate has a plan to pass a continuing resolution, though it’s unlikely McCarthy will bring that to the floor for a vote.

He also can’t procure Democratic votes unless he wants to risk a leadership scuffle. Also, there’s no incentive for Democrats to help Republicans right now. Goldman Sachs predicts the chances of a shutdown at 90 percent. It might as well be 100 at this point, to be honest (via NY Post):

Wall Street is bracing for the likelihood of lengthy government shutdown — with one prominent analyst placing the odds at 90% that Republicans and Democrats won’t reach a deal before Saturday’s deadline.

Goldman Sachs’ chief economist Jan Hatzius said in a Wednesday note obtained by The Post: “A government shutdown this year has looked likely for several months, and we now think the odds have risen to 90%.”

Hatzius, who heads the bank’s global investment research, predicted the shutdown would likely last two to three weeks

(Read more from “Major Financial Institution Gives Its Prediction on the Looming Government Shutdown” HERE)

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House Short-Term Spending Bill Fails as Government Barrels Toward Shutdown

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The House rejected a short-term spending bill on Friday designed to keep the government open through the September 30 deadline, making a government shutdown almost inevitable.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) continuing resolution (CR) failed 198-232 despite his inclusion of significant border security measures included to coax skeptical conservatives. Twenty-one Republicans opposed the measure which would have extended government funding for 30 days.

McCarthy is expected to meet with his Republican colleagues Friday afternoon to discuss a path forward. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) alerted colleagues that votes are expected Saturday, a change from the previous schedule.

The Senate, meanwhile, continues negotiations to determine how much Ukraine aid and border security funds to include. Those negotiations are primarily being held between independent Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who caucuses with Democrats, and a handful of Republicans. (Read more from “House Short-Term Spending Bill Fails as Government Barrels Toward Shutdown” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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U.S. Government Tells Federal Employees a Shutdown May Be Imminent

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The U.S. government notified federal workers on Thursday that a shutdown appears imminent, as a Republican-led standoff on Capitol Hill forced the Biden administration to begin the formal, methodical process of preparing much of Washington to come to a halt.

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The new warnings underscored the growing likelihood that millions of employees and military service members may stop receiving pay in just three days, even as talks commenced on Capitol Hill in pursuit of a long-elusive, last-minute deal that would extend federal funding beyond Sept. 30.

Across the government, federal officials dusted off the intricate blueprints that help unwind and pare down the sprawling bureaucracy to only its most vital functions. They braced for disruptions that are likely to be significant, especially if the stalemate persists for weeks, potentially dragging down the fragile U.S. economy while complicating many of the services on which millions of Americans and businesses rely.

Some federal programs, including Social Security and mail delivery, would be unaffected because they are funded outside of the annual appropriations process on Capitol Hill. But many other government operations would be rendered inaccessible if funds expire as soon as this weekend — potentially resulting in closed parks and passport offices, and eventually, more worrisome interruptions affecting federal housing, food and health aid for the poor. (Read more from “U.S. Government Tells Federal Employees a Shutdown May Be Imminent” HERE)

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It Looks Like Government Will Be Funded After All: Congress Averts Shutdown by Passing Continuing Resolution

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While there was talk of a government shutdown, and “#ShutItDown” was even trending on Twitter for a time, Congress averted a shutdown on Thursday evening when both the House and the Senate passed legislation to fund the government through February 18 with a continuing resolution (CR). Late on Thursday evening, the Senate voted 69-28.

The CR passed the House earlier in the evening 221-212, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL) being the only Republican to vote with Democrats. Some Republicans, like Rep. Chip Roy (TX), wanted to tie funding the government to President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.

Its fate was less certain in the Senate, though, again, due to vaccine mandates. An agreement was reached, though, when the Senate agreed to vote on an amendment from Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) to defund Biden’s vaccine mandate and testing requirements, with only a simple majority.

A Wednesday morning edition of POLITICO Playbook included a statement from Sen. Lee. “I’m sure we would all like to simplify the process for resolving the CR, but I can’t facilitate that without addressing the vaccine mandates,” he said. “Given that federal courts across the country have raised serious issues with these mandates, it’s not unreasonable for my Democratic colleagues to delay enforcement of the mandates for at least the length of the continuing resolution.”

(Read more from “It Looks Like Government Will Be Funded After All: Congress Averts Shutdown by Passing Continuing Resolution” HERE)

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President Unity Gives Unhinged Lecture on Debt Ceiling

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In remarks from the White House on Monday, an exasperated President Biden addressed the looming October 18 deadline before which Congress must vote to raise the nation’s debt ceiling or face defaulting on its debts on the heels of last week’s failure to whip enough support among congressional Democrats to move his domestic legislative agenda forward.

Failing to raise the debt ceiling is “reckless and dangerous” according to Biden who attempted to explain the situation in layman’s terms. Such a vote, Biden claimed, is “paying what we already owe, what has already been acquired” and “not anything new.”

“We’re able to borrow because we always pay what we owe,” Biden continued, saying “that’s America, that’s who we are.” The “full faith and credit of the United States” is “rock solid, it’s the best in the world,” he added.

In Biden’s pitch, “raising the debt limit is about paying off our old debts” and has “nothing to do” with his administration’s infrastructure or budget reconciliation bills, two items the president erroneously claimed are “already paid for.”

(Read more from “President Unity Gives Unhinged Lecture on Debt Ceiling” HERE)

Photo credit: Paul Morigi https://www.flickr.com/photos/96739999@N05/28153945488

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President Biden Signs Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown

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President Biden on Thursday signed a stopgap bill that will keep the government funded through early December, narrowly averting a government shutdown.

The House and Senate each passed the continuing resolution earlier Thursday. The bill funds government operations through Dec. 3 and includes $28.6 billion in additional disaster relief and $6.3 billion for Afghan refugee resettlement, as requested by the White House.

“It meets critical and urgent needs of the nation, including disaster relief for both red and blue states hit hard by Hurricane Ida and other devastating natural disasters, and funding to help us resettle Afghan allies in the United States following the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan,” Biden said in a statement after signing the bill. “This funding will also keep up our fight against COVID-19 and—on this International Recovery Day—it will continue our battle against the opioid crisis.”

“There’s so much more to do. But the passage of this bill reminds us that bipartisan work is possible and it gives us time to pass longer-term funding to keep our government running and delivering for the American people,” the president said. (Read more from “President Biden Signs Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown” HERE)

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Trump Vetoes Defense Bill and Threatens Government Shutdown

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U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a bipartisan defense policy bill on Wednesday and raised the prospect that the United States could face a government shutdown during a pandemic, stirring new turmoil in Washington as he headed to Florida for Christmas.

. . .Trump sought to refashion two complex pieces of legislation that passed Congress by wide, bipartisan margins after months of negotiation.

Trump followed through on a threat to veto the defense bill and demanded dramatic changes to a $2.3 trillion package that funds the federal government and provides nearly $900 billion in coronavirus aid.

If Trump blocks the spending package, large parts of the U.S. government will start to shut down next week for lack of funds at a time when officials are distributing two coronavirus vaccines and working to respond to a massive hacking attack. (Read more from “Trump Vetoes Defense Bill and Threatens Government Shutdown” HERE)

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Senate Passes Temporary Spending Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

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The Senate passed a spending bill that temporarily averts a government shutdown.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 84-10 in bipartisan fashion to approve a continuing resolution that funds the government until Dec. 11, which the House of Representatives passed last week. President Trump is expected to sign the bill Wednesday night before current funding levels are due to expire.

The bill also includes $8 billion in nutrition assistance for families amid the coronavirus pandemic, allows for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to access 2021 funding to combat wildfires setting the West Coast ablaze and dangerous storms this hurricane season on the East Coast, and finances a possible transition should Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden win the November election. (Read more from “Senate Passes Temporary Spending Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown” HERE)

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Pelosi, Schumer Threaten Another Shutdown

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President Donald Trump’s pursuit of funding for his border wall will only lead to another government shutdown, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned on Sunday. . .

In a joint statement, the Democratic leaders said they hope Trump “learned his lesson” from the last partial government shutdown because additional efforts to secure border wall funds will fail.

“President Trump hurt millions of Americans and caused widespread chaos when he recklessly shut down the government to try to get his expensive and ineffective wall, which he promised would be paid for by Mexico,” they said.

“Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again,” the leaders continued. “We hope he learned his lesson.” . . .

Pelosi and Schumer issued their statement in response to reports that indicated Trump plans to ask Congress for $8.6 billion in funding for a border wall. Trump’s request would come in his proposed budget for fiscal year 2020. (Read more from “Pelosi, Schumer Threaten Another Shutdown” HERE)

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