当国会在夏季休会后于周一返回华盛顿时，立法者将在9月30日资金耗尽时关注迫在眉睫的政府关闭。
但在他们进入正题之前，共和党人和民主党人将在选举年就选民资格展开党派斗争。
在周三与众议院共和党会议的私人电话中，消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊概述了他避免政府关闭的计划，即围绕一项短期政府拨款法案召集众议院共和党人，该法案将拨款延长至2025年3月，但包括一项民主党人警告将扼杀资金法案的重大政策提案。
消息人士称，约翰逊告诉议员，他希望下周早些时候就他的短期融资计划举行投票——尽管下周的地板时间表尚未正式宣布。
众议院领导人经常将优先项目附加到必须通过的临时拨款法案上，作为推动议员要求的措施的一种手段。
正如约翰逊告诉成员们的那样，这不会有什么不同。据消息人士透露，他将试图将拯救法案(SAVE Act)附在拨款法案上，该法案要求个人提供美国公民身份的证明才能投票。
约翰逊解决迫在眉睫的融资期限的开场白可能不会是一个获胜的解决方案。但随着微弱多数和保守派叫嚣拯救法案，他将试图在众议院奠定一个立法标志-并给共和党成员在竞选活动中指出立法。
参议院民主党人已经表示，拯救法案对他们来说是不可能的，但约翰逊的举动使众议院之间的摊牌只剩下几个月了选举日。
什么是保障美国选民资格法案?
《拯救法案》得到了前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)和极右翼众议院自由核心小组(House Freedom Caucus)的支持，该法案旨在扩大联邦选举投票的公民身份证明要求。它禁止各州接受和处理在联邦选举中登记投票的申请，除非申请人提交美国公民身份的证明文件。
7月10日，众议院以221票对198票的两党投票结果通过了拯救法案，五名选举年弱势民主党人穿过过道，与所有共和党人一起投票。目前还不清楚这种支持是否会延续到约翰逊计划就政府拨款进行的摊牌投票中。
国会拉美裔党团称该法案是“极端和危险的”，并警告说，它将从州名册中清除数百万合法选民，并使美国人更难重新登记投票。
众议院通过该法案后，国会拉美裔党团在一份声明中说:“让我们直截了当地说吧——这是对辛勤工作的家庭的直接攻击，包括拉丁裔社区。”。
在周二的新闻发布会上，白宫新闻秘书卡琳·让·皮埃尔呼吁共和党人从他们的拨款法案中放弃拯救法案，而是提出一个干净的短期版本，称为持续决议，或CR。
“我们希望看到一个干净的CR，”让-皮埃尔告诉美国广播公司的卡伦特拉弗斯。“这就是我们想要看到的。”
让-皮埃尔说，政府“强烈反对”储蓄法案。“非公民在联邦选举中投票已经是非法的。已经违法了。”
参议院民主党人几乎肯定会反对
约翰逊的提议可能会在众议院和参议院之间引发一场激烈的斗争，因为参议院民主党人几乎肯定会拒绝这项权宜之计法案，因为其中包含了储蓄法案。
参议院拨款委员会主席帕蒂·默里称之为“毒丸”和“不成功因素”
“我们以前看过这部电影，我们知道它的结局。默里说:“参议院民主党人将继续以两党合作的方式努力，确保我们能够保持政府资金，并提交负责任的两党支出法案，这些法案实际上可以在年底前签署成为法律。”
参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默尚未概述处理政府资金的计划，但他警告众议院同事不要在必须通过的资金法案中包括任何党派问题。
舒默在给美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说:“正如我们每次都说的那样，完成事情的唯一方式是两党合作，这就是每次发生的事情。”
目前还不清楚约翰逊提出的2025年3月的延期日期是否会得到民主党人的认可，民主党人可能会寻求一个更短的权宜之计，使他们能够继续辩论，并有可能在今年年底的跛脚鸭会议期间锁定年度拨款。
如果你觉得我们刚刚做了这些，你没有错。
政府拨款每年在9月30日联邦政府财政年度结束时到期。
通过2024年的年度拨款尤其具有灾难性。前众议院议长·凯文·麦卡锡因此丢了工作。约翰逊因此而被任命，但他的职位也面临着威胁。约翰逊最终实施了前所未有的两个截止日期系统，以帮助推动球越过终点线。
国会直到3月中旬才完成编纂当前支出水平的工作，比年度截止日期提前了几个月。到所有法案都通过的时候，他们只为政府提供了大约6个月的资金。
月底的最后期限又一次临近了。
截至周三，众议院已经通过了12项政府拨款法案中的5项，包括国防，国土安全，内政环境，军事建设和退伍军人事务以及国家外交行动。
众议院共和党领导人希望他们能够通过所有12项法案，但现实是没有足够的时间这样做。
在2023年10月拿下木槌后，约翰逊在美国广播公司新闻频道(ABC News)获得的一封致同事的信中表示，在众议院通过所有12项拨款法案之前，他不会在8月休会。
约翰逊在他作为议长的第一封信中写道:“除非众议院通过了所有12项拨款法案，否则不要中断地区工作时间。”
这一承诺没有兑现。
与此同时，到目前为止，参议院还没有通过一项拨款法案。
Johnson to tie avoiding government shutdown to voter eligibility measure
When Congress returns to Washington on Monday after summer recess, lawmakers will be staring down a looming government shutdown on Sept. 30 when funding is set to run out.
But before they get down to brass tacks, Republicans and Democrats will face off in an election-year partisan battle over voter eligibility.
During a private phone call with the House Republican Conference on Wednesday, sources told ABC News that House Speaker Mike Johnson outlined his plan to avert a government shutdown -- rallying House Republicans around a short-term government funding bill that extends funding into March 2025 but includes a major policy proposal Democrats warn will kill the money bill.
Sources said Johnson told members that he wants to hold a vote on his short-term funding plan early next week -- although next week's floor schedule has not been officially announced.
House leaders regularly attach priority items to must-pass stopgap funding bills as a means of pushing through measures their members demand.
This will be no different, as Johnson told members. According to sources, he'll attempt to attach the SAVE Act -- a bill requiring individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to vote -- to the funding bill.
Johnson's opening salvo to address the looming funding deadline likely won't be a winning solution. But with a narrow majority and conservatives clamoring for the SAVE Act, he will attempt to lay down a legislative marker in the House -- and give GOP members legislation to point to on the campaign trail.
Senate Democrats have already said the SAVE Act is a non-starter for them, but Johnson's move sets up a showdown between the chambers with just months remaining untilElectionDay.
What is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act?
The SAVE Act, which has the backing of former President Donald Trump and the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is a bill that seeks to expand proof of citizenship requirements to vote in federal elections. It bans states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
The House passed the SAVE Act on July 10 by a bipartisan vote of 221-198, with five election-year vulnerable Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with all Republicans. It's unclear whether that same support would carry over into Johnson's planed showdown vote over funding the government.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls the bill "extreme and dangerous" and warns it would purge millions of legal voters from state rolls and make it much more difficult for Americans to reregister to vote.
"Let's call it what it is -- this is a direct attack on hard-working families, including Latino communities," the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a statement following House passage of the bill.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Republicans to drop the SAVE Act from their funding bill and to instead advance a clean short-term version, called a continuing resolution, or CR.
"We want to see a clean CR," Jean-Pierre told ABC's Karen Travers. "That's what we want to see."
The administration "strongly opposes" the SAVE Act, Jean-Pierre said. "It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. It's already illegal."
Senate Democrats almost sure to oppose
Johnson's proposal is likely to set off a fierce fight between the House and the Senate, as Senate Democrats will almost certainly reject the stopgap bill because of the inclusion of the SAVE Act.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray called it a "poison pill" and a "nonstarter."
"We've seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. Senate Democrats will continue to work in a bipartisan way to ensure we can keep the government funded and deliver responsible, bipartisan spending bills that can actually be signed into law before the end of the year," Murray said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet outlined a plan for dealing with government funding, but he warned House colleagues against the inclusion of any partisan matters in a must-pass funding bill.
"As we have said each time we've had CR, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way and that is what has happened every time," Schumer said in a statement to ABC News.
It's also not yet clear whether the March 2025 extension date Johnson is proposing will sit well with Democrats, who may seek a much shorter stopgap that allows them to continue to debate and potentially lock in annual appropriations during the lame-duck session at the end of this year.
If it feels to you like we just did this, you're not wrong.
Government funding expires annually at the end of the federal government's fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Passing annual appropriations for 2024 was especially calamitous. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his job over it. Johnson was installed because of it, but not without also facing threats to his position. Johnson ultimately implemented a never-before-seen two deadline system to help push the ball over the line.
Congress did not complete its work codifying current spending levels until mid-March, blowing months past the annual deadline. By the time all the bills were passed, they only funded the government for about six months.
Once again, the deadline is fast-approaching at the end of the month.
As of Wednesday, the House had passed five of the 12 individual government funding bills, including for Defense, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and State-Foreign Operations.
House GOP leaders hoped they would be able to clear all 12 bills, but the reality is that there is not enough time to do so.
Right after taking the gavel in October 2023, Johnson said in a letter obtained by ABC News to colleagues that he would not break for August recess until all 12 appropriations bills had passed the House.
"DO NOT break for district work period unless all 12 appropriations bills have passed the House," Johnson wrote in his first letter as speaker.
That promise was not kept.
Meanwhile, to date, the Senate has not passed a single appropriations bill.
