Late Saturday, the U.S. Senate passed a stopgap funding bill that gives Congress until November 17 to resolve a spending impasse by an 88-9 vote, with both U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) voting for it.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. House passed its version of the legislation by a 335-91 vote.
U.S. Reps. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile), Mike Rogers (R-Saks), Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) and Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) voted for the bill. U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) and Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) voted against it.
Strong, who voted for it, emphasized his desire to ensure U.S. military personnel were paid.
"After seeing the plan to finish our work on the remaining conservative appropriations bills, I supported extending funding for 45 days to ensure our troops are paid and our national security is protected," he said in an emailed statement. "Over the next month, we will push through the most conservative appropriations bills in history. These bills, like the four we have passed already, are the best way to cut spending, protect the rights of parents and families, end woke policies in schools and our military, and secure the border."
The North Alabama federal lawmaker also criticized some of his GOP colleagues who blocked a funding bill earlier in the week.
"On Friday, the House of Representatives attempted to pass a funding bill that cut federal discretionary spending by 30%, protected our troops, veterans, and seniors, and included permanent border security measures," Strong continued. "Some fringe members of the Republican Party blocked that bill from passing the House. Passing conservative legislation is the only way to force President Biden to accept conservative priorities. Shutting down the government today will only hurt our cause and America's national security."
Carl echoed Strong's sentiment in a tweet.
Today, I voted to keep our service members paid, fund our border patrol, and keep our country moving forward. @HouseGOP is continuing the work to cut back on wasteful spending, stop the woke agenda, and secure our border.
— Rep. Jerry Carl (@RepJerryCarl) September 30, 2023
Sewell, Alabama's lone Democrat, said the measure avoided some of the deep cuts sought by Republicans.
(2/2) While this measure is not perfect, it avoids deep cuts that House Republicans attempted to push through earlier this week and provides critical disaster relief funding that communities in Alabama depend on.
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) September 30, 2023
On the "no" side of the vote, Moore pledged to work "as long as it takes" in his condemnation of the stopgap measure.
"House conservatives have already passed four appropriations bills that would fund 70 percent of the government, but Senate Majority Leader Schumer refuses to bring them to a vote," Moore said on the heels of his "no" vote. "The last time we followed the law and passed all 12 bills was 26 years ago when our deficit was $22 billion. It's no coincidence our deficit has ballooned to more than $2 trillion since then. I am prepared to stay in Washington and work with my colleagues across the conference as long as it takes to advance all 12 bills and protect the American people from the status quo of out-of-control spending."
Aderholt tweeted Saturday that his "no" vote was based on the lack of spending cuts and no language to deal with the border crisis.
While I do not want the government to shutdown, I had to vote against this Continuing Resolution Saturday. It does not provide the overall cuts I feel we need and does not address the crisis at our southern border.
— Robert Aderholt (@Robert_Aderholt) September 30, 2023
Alabama's two U.S. Senators relayed the reasoning behind their "yes" vote but voiced their disapproval of President Joe Biden.
"I am glad that the government is not going to shut down," Tuberville said in a statement sent out by his office on Saturday. "But this is no way to run a government. This entire spectacle up here never should have happened. This Clown Show in Washington needs to learn how to govern. That means passing 12 appropriations bills, which a bipartisan group of Senators on the Appropriations Committee did a long time ago. But Chuck Schumer and the Democrats who run Washington don't want to do that. We cannot lurch from crisis to crisis anymore. We need to finally get to regular order and govern like adults."
"After completely unnecessary political fire drills, ultimately, both chambers were able to come together not only to keep the federal government open but reject President Biden's misguided supplemental request," Britt said. "Now, we will be able to pay our troops, the Border Patrol, and Capitol Police and help our neighbors in Florida and the people of Hawaii recover. We will continue the critical fight for border security while we work to pass responsible appropriations bills through regular order. In the coming weeks, I'll work with my colleagues to advance spending measures that are judicious, strategic, transparent, and accountable."
Biden reportedly signed the bill late Saturday shortly before the midnight deadline.
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
