Congress did what it had to do, and then with a stroke of his pen so did President Barack Obama, avoiding a shutdown of the federal government -- for two weeks, anyway.

The U.S. Senate voted 91-9 Wednesday to pass a House bill that will fund the government for two more weeks, cutting $4 billion in spending in the process. Funds to keep the government running have only been appropriated through Friday. President Barack Obama ended the immediate tension by signing the bill into law late Wednesday afternoon and preventing a shutdown.

Despite complete Democratic control of the legislative and executive branches in 2010, no comprehensive budget was passed. Instead, temporary spending measures, lasting for months at a time, were passed to keep the federal government running.

The bill includes appropriations that run out on March 18, but Republicans were touting the measure as a victory of sorts -- the first step in their quest to rein in government spending.

Said Sen. Marco Rubio, “I appreciate the work of the leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate in crafting a two-week Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government beyond March 4. With a $1.5 trillion deficit and a staggering national debt that exceeds $14 trillion, our nation confronts the painful reality that we can no longer afford the reckless Washington habit of spending more money than we have.”

Florida’s other U.S. senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, also voted in favor of the two-week measure.

But House Republicans took the opportunity to bash Democratic leaders in the Senate for the spending showdown. The House passed a bill Feb. 19 that would have funded the government through September, the end of the current fiscal year.

That measure, which would have shaved $100 billion from President Obama‘s budget request, passed in a partisan vote with just three Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in voting against it. The Senate did not vote on the bill, prompting the need for the short-term spending bill.

“In a House vote made necessary by the Senate’s inaction, I voted (Tuesday) for a short-term agreement that cuts spending by $4 billion over two weeks,” said North Florida Republican Rep. Steve Southerland.

If Democrats on the Hill are leery of the longer-term spending measure, environmental and public-policy advocates in Florida are openly hostile to the cuts offered by House Republicans, and say that government services Floridians receive will be drastically impacted.

“Florida families have a fundamental right to breathe clean air and drink clean water, but this bill is the biggest assault on both in recent history,” said Sarah Bucci, federal field associate for Environment Florida.

Bucci and others decried the long-term spending bill’s cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, eliminating funding for high-speed rail projects and cutting $5.7 billion from Pell Grant education scholarships.

“Tough choices are supposed to come only after the easy ones. It’s difficult to imagine how cuts to Pell Grants, food safety and clean drinking water come before subsidies to BP and advertising for fast food and clothing,” said Patrick Gittard, field associate for Florida Public Interest Group.

But Republicans on the Hill are undaunted, and are vowing to maintain budget cuts as part of any compromise on spending in the next fortnight.

“With a $14 trillion national debt and a projected $1.6 trillion deficit, Congress can no longer maintain the status quo -- action must be taken,” Florida Republican Rep. Sandy Adams said.

 

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Kevin Derby contributed to this story.

Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.

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