Statement from BPC President and CEO Margaret Spellings on Deal to Avert a Government Shutdown

Washington, DC— Statement from Margaret Spellings, president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center, on the final passage of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act that avoids a costly government shutdown and funds the government at current levels through November 17, 2023.

“The Bipartisan Policy Center is relieved to see that, once again, bipartisanship has saved the day. With mere hours until a government shutdown, yet another budget crisis that would have inflicted pain and uncertainty on American households and the economy has been averted with bipartisan passage of a short-term funding deal.

But let’s be clear: This is not a win for either side or a process that Congress can afford to continue. In a time of split-party control, what we witnessed over the past weeks unfortunately reflects all too well what the American people have come to expect from Washington, but not what they deserve.

To ensure we’re not back in the same place 45 days from now, lawmakers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to end the practice of crisis budgeting. They should pass all 12 appropriations bills with bipartisan cooperation and collaboration by November 17 to fund the government through fiscal year 2024. What’s more, the present shutdown chaos and last spring’s debt limit standoff underscore that working across the aisle and between chambers is the only way that we’ll ever be able to focus on the nation’s larger fiscal challenges that loom ahead.

We cannot keep kicking the can down the road on our fiscal health and negotiating on the brink of government shutdowns and debt defaults. Congress must get serious about real reform to the budget process. BPC and BPC Action look forward to supporting members as they take up these critical efforts.”

BPC’s recommendations to get our fiscal house in order include:

1. Preventing future government shutdowns: Congress must not only fund the government through fiscal year 2024, but end the threat of shutdowns permanently. Bipartisan legislation like the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act would enact automatic CRs on a two-week rolling basis if Congress fails to pass full-year spending bills by the start of each fiscal year on October 1, with incentives to keep members focused on finishing their work on the budget.
2. Eliminating the threat of a U.S. default: Bipartisan support exists to end budget brinkmanship, which only endangers American households and businesses. Legislation like the Responsible Budgeting Act, introduced in the last Congress, would require lawmakers to routinely address our fiscal health by annually debating and voting on significant deficit reducing legislation—but without the full faith and credit of the country hanging in the balance.
3. Addressing the country’s long-term fiscal health: Our long-term fiscal health is too often overshadowed by the budget crisis of the moment. Bipartisan momentum is building to create a commission that examines our broader fiscal challenges, which budget experts across the ideological spectrum support. As home of the Domenici-Rivlin Debt Reduction Task Force, BPC has extensive expertise and experience championing policy efforts that offer realistic, bipartisan, and politically viable solutions to aid our nation’s fiscal health.