Republicans block Senate bill to fund government and suspend debt ceiling
CBSN
Republicans blocked a Senate bill to fund the government at current levels and suspend the debt ceiling, leaving open the possibilities of a government shutdown early Friday morning and a catastrophic U.S. default that could take place some time in October if Congress fails to act. Whose debt is it anyway? Partisan claims fly as lawmakers face off over the debt ceiling
A procedural vote on the bill, which needed 60 votes in the Senate to proceed, fell on party lines, with all Republicans voting against the measure. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he changed his vote from "yes" to "no" for procedural reasons. The bill previously passed along party lines in the House. The bill's failure is no surprise, since Republicans had said they would not vote to raise the debt ceiling, insisting Democrats and President Biden are spending too much, and they alone should act to raise the debt ceiling. The bill would have funded the government through December 3 and raised the debt limit through December 22.
If Congress doesn't pass funding by the end of September 30, the conclusion of the current fiscal year, large swaths of the government will stop operating. The last partial government shutdown took place under former President Trump from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.