Herrera Beutler backs bill to bypass Senate, ‘keep the lights’

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler joined nearly all of her Republican House colleagues Friday in voting for a largely symbolic bill stating that if the Senate fails to pass a measure by next Friday to keep the federal government in business for the next six months, a House bill that proposes to cut $61 billion from the current year’s budget will become “the law of the land.”

The Government Shutdown Prevention Act, which passed 221-202 without a single Democratic vote, provides that if a government shutdown extends beyond 24 hours, or if the U.S. reaches its debt limit, neither members of Congress nor President Barack Obama would be paid. The current stopgap funding measure will expire April 8.

“Until the Senate does its job and passes a bill, this legislation is intended to keep the lights and the government functioning,” Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, said in a statement. She said she opposes a government shutdown.

The House has done its job by passing a spending plan and now has passed a backup plan to prevent a shutdown, Herrera Beutler said.

“The ball is now firmly in the Senate’s court to make the next move so that Congress can establish a long-term funding plan,” she said.

The Senate already has rejected the bill the House passed in February.

The bill passed Friday would not take effect unless the Senate passed some version of a budget bill and the president signed the House bill implementing the $61 billion in budget cuts.