Senate Beats Deadline, Approves Stopgap Measure

UPDATE: By a vote of 79-12, the Senate on Monday approved a stopgap measure to keep the government funded through November 18.

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This story was updated for a second time at 7:38 pm EST

UPDATE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will hold a vote Monday night on a bill to keep the government funded through November 19 and provide the Federal Emergency Management Agency with nearly $3.7 billion in funding. 

The Senate bill mirrors a House-passed bill that was shot down by the upper chamber Friday. The only difference is that proposed spending cuts aimed at offsetting FEMA’s funding are excluded from the Senate’s version. 

Though FEMA is running short on time and was previously expected to exhaust the little funding it has left by Tuesday, Senate aides have indicated that the disaster aide agency actually has enough money to keep it operational through Thursday. 

If Congress fails to act before Friday, Sept. 30, the United States government will face the threat of a government shutdown for the third time in 2011.

This story was updated at 11:24a.m. EST…

Washington, D.C. - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called on House GOP leadership to “cool off” and requested they meet with him over the weekend to hash out an agreement on funding the government and keeping FEMA afloat.

The move, which puts next week’s prospects of a congressional recess on hold, comes on the heels of the upper chamber’s rejection of a spending measure the House passed early Friday that would keep the government funded through November 19.  

The Senate voted 59 to 36 Friday in favor of tabling the House’s proposal.  

“If [House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)] thought he could just send us this bill… and leave town, I think he ought to take a look at the roll call we just had,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters, referring to the 7 Republican senators who crossed party lines to table the House’s bill.  

A Senate bill that Democratic leaders now say matches the $3.65 billion in FEMA funding proposed by the House is scheduled to be considered Monday evening, but does not include the GOP’s spending cuts offsetting emergency funding. 

In fact, Reid shot down the notion of adding offsets to the Senate’s bill when asked by reporters if he would consider the move should the Senate bill fail Monday.

Prior to Reid’s request to meet with Speaker Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) over the weekend, the House GOP leaders indicated at an earlier press conference that the House planned to adjourn as scheduled following Friday votes. 

With FEMA expected to exhaust its current budget by early next week, Cantor said regarding the possibility of returning next week, “If we are back, that means Harry Reid has shut down FEMA.”

Click here to see photos from today’s press conference. 

Pelosi Defends Democrats' Rejection Of CR Bill

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended Democrats’ decision to reject the lower chamber’s CR bill during her weekly press briefing Thursday.

“We should not go down a different path now than we have done on natural disaster assistance,” Pelosi remarked. “That’s why we fought so hard about what the Republicans put forth. On top of that, we didn’t like the offset because it was a jobs killer.”

The House Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) included $3.65 billion in funding  for disaster relief and was partially offset by a $1.5 billion cut to a Department of Energy advanced manufacturing loan program.

The bill was rejected by a House vote of 195-230 with only six Democrats choosing to support it. 48 conservative Republicans ultimately voted against it based on the belief that it did not cut enough spending.

“Assistance in the time of a natural disaster should not be a controversial issue,” Pelosi continued. “It hasn’t been before.”

While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a mere $215 million left in its disaster relief fund. Pelosi argued that the bill was not about paying for disaster.

“It was clear to us that this wasn’t about paying for the disaster but destroying an initiative that is jobs creating,” Pelosi charged.

Republican leaders are busy working towards a new resolution to fund FEMA and prevent a government shut down at the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

Click here to see photos from today’s briefing

Boehner: Government Will Not Shutdown

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) assured reporters Thursday that the federal government will not shut down at the end of the month.

Current funding expires on September 30. A vote yesterday on a continuing resolution to extend funding through November 18 failed 195-230, with almost every single Democrat voting against. In addition, 48 conservative Republicans voted against the bill on the grounds that it did not cut enough spending.

“There is no threat of government shutdown,” Boehner said. “This resolution was designed to be a bipartisan bill and we had every reason to believe that our counterparts across the aisle would support it. Once they began to see where some of our votes were, they decided to play politics and vote against disaster relief for millions of Americans who’ve been affected.”

Democrats were unhappy with the amount of money — $3.65 billion for disaster relief in the bill, nor did they support the fact that it was partially offset by a $1.5 billion cut to a Department of Energy advanced manufacturing loan program.

Boehner said he had a feeling that the bill would be rejected.

“I’ve always believed in allowing the House to work its will,” Boehner said. “I understood what the risk was yesterday, but why not put the bill on the floor and let the members speak? And they did.”

With the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) down to $215 million in its disaster relief fund, time is running out for lawmakers to authorize new funding.

“We’re going to meet with our Members and present some options to find a way forward,” Boehner pledged. 

A new bill could come to the House floor as soon as Thursday, and leaders have warned that the House may stay in session through the weekend. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to recess next week.

Click here and here to see pictures from today’s briefing.

FEMA Not Taking Any Chances With Hurricane Earl

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), desparate to renew its legacy five years after it was heavily scrutinized for its slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is delivering a no-nonsense message regarding Hurricane Earl.

“The message today is this is a day of action,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate during a conference call on Thursday. “Conditions are going to deteriorate rapidly. Many people people will start out with clear skies, but we expect conditions along the East Coast will deteriorate. People should not be lulled into a false sense this will be steered away from them. Time will be running out for people who have not gotten ready.”

Currently, Earl is moving up the Atlantic Coast as a Category 3 hurricane, with winds near 115 mph. It had been scored as a Category 4 earlier in the week, with the potential to become a 5.

By this morning, the center of the storm was hundreds of miles off the coast of South Carolina. Most forecasts predicted the storm would keep a relative distance from the eastern shore as it moved north, but Fugate warned residents and holiday weekend travelers to be prepared for anything.

“I encourage everyone along the eastern seaboard to visit Ready.gov and take steps now to keep their family safe and secure,” he said. “The most important thing for people to do right now is to listen to and follow the instruction of their local officials, especially for evacuation orders.”

Already, the Governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland have declared states of emergency, qualifying them for whatever federal assistance they may need to protect against the storm.

Hurricane Earl is expected to approach the Outer Banks of North Carolina tonight, and the Delmarva penninsula by tomorrow. A hurricane warning was issued earlier today for parts of the southern New England coast, where the storm could hit Friday night.

FEMA Chief Cautions East Coast States To Prepare For Hurricane Earl

By AJ Swartwood - Talk Radio News Service

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Craig Fugate urged coastal states on Tuesday to take precautionary measures against a potentially destructive Hurricane Earl, currently a Category 4 hurricane.

Fugate assured that his agency will be well prepared for Earl itself. 

“We’re taking steps to aggressively prepare should a hurricane make landfall along the East Coast,” he said.

According to FEMA’s tracking technology, the storm should move along the U.S.’ northeast coast without ever making landfall.

However, Fugate cautioned residents in those areas to be prepared for a worst-case scenario without going immediately into panic mode. 

“We want to have people ready to go,” he said, adding that although the center of the storm may not make landfall, its impact could result in inconveniences such as storm swells, fallen trees and power outages.

Fugate stressed the fact that FEMA has taken a more proactive role in preparation for this storm, likely hoping to ease the bad memories of a heavily scrutinized response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.