With government funding running out at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, both Colorado senators said they will not vote for a Republican House backed funding measure.
“Republicans knew they needed Democratic votes to pass their spending bill. But, they refused to work with Democrats on a bipartisan deal to put American families first,”Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet said in a statement. “The Republican spending bill does not serve Coloradans well; therefore, I will be voting no.”
During a telephone town hall Wednesday night, Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper also said he would not support the continuing resolution.
“It's a dangerous power grab. They want to give Trump unchecked control over our nation's spending,” Hickenlooper said. “The longer I look at it, this is a fundamental test of our democracy. So when this bill reaches the Senate floor, I will vote no. We need a funding bill that preserves Congress's authority and by extension your voice.”
Republicans control the senate but need at least eight Democrats to vote to advance the bill. If it clears the 60 vote threshold for cloture, it would only take a simple majority to pass the funding bill.
Both senators said they support passing a month-long funding measure to give time for negotiations on appropriations bills for the rest of the fiscal year, rather than a continuing resolution.
House Republicans passed a bill largely along party lines. All of Colorado’s Republicans voted to pass the measure that raises defense spending while also cutting non-defense spending, such as health care and veterans benefits. All Colorado's Democrats in the House voted against it.
The bill put Senate Democrats in a jam.
While Republicans control the White House, Senate and House, Democratic votes are needed for the bill to pass the Senate. The two parties are already playing the blame game. Republicans are calling it the “Schumer shutdown,” while Democrats point out Republicans control the executive and legislative branches of government. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for his part, says he will vote for cloture.
Other Democrats worry that shutting down the government will give the Trump Administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency more room to reshape the federal government and lay off more federal employees.
