Alabama’s U.S. Senators Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) were recently at odds over legislation to avoid a government shutdown.
The continuing resolution bill, which the Senate passed by a 72 to 25 margin, avoids the shutdown that was set to begin Friday and keeps the government afloat financially through December 16, according to CBS. The bill also includes about $12.3 billion for Ukraine and $20 million for water and infrastructure improvements for Jackson, Mississippi.
Tuberville opposed the continuing resolution, calling it “a reckless approach to governing.”
“A continuing resolution is meant to maintain government funding at its current level until Congress passes appropriation bills,” Tuberville said. “But, in what has become standard practice this Congress, Democrats were set on using this legislation to spend as much unrelated money as possible, as quickly as possible. This is a reckless approach to governing. Hastily spending billions of new dollars by attaching them to a continuing resolution is an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds.”
Shelby voted for the stopgap measure, saying on Thursday that “the Senate has passed a Continuing Resolution ensuring the government will remain open and functioning.”
“Now, with very little time remaining, we must complete the full year appropriations bills,” Shelby said in a statement. “My colleagues must quickly accept a bipartisan framework that rejects poison pills, maintains important legacy riders, and demonstrates a serious commitment to our national defense. We need to finish the job.”
The U.S. House passed the measure by a vote of 230-201 on Friday morning. All five of Alabama's House Republicans voted against the measure. U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) voted for it.
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