John,

Congress is working overtime to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR)—a stopgap funding bill—before the September 30th deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

Thanks to your activism, the House of Representatives has removed the SAVE Act—a poison pill rider that required proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. And they have shortened the period for the CR to December 20. That’s helpful, because it gives more time for Congress to address funding shortfalls and expiring programs that aren’t fixed by this stopgap spending bill. Now, both chambers of Congress must pass the CR before they head out on their October recess.

We were able to get rid of one poison pill rider, now we must make sure Congress passes a bill to avoid a government shutdown without any additional riders when the House votes on the funding bill tomorrow, Wednesday, September 25th.

Send a direct message to Congress today, urging them to vote on a clean CR without poison pill riders.

Thanks to our hard work together, both Republican and Democratic leadership in the House are encouraging their members not to oppose the bill in its current form, but there’s no guarantee that poison pill amendments won’t be added. And, even if it does pass the House, it will still have to pass the Senate.¹

There are many critical provisions for human needs in the bill:

• Extensions of expiring Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding.

• Health care provisions include Medicaid funding for the Northern Mariana Islands and delaying pending clinical laboratory payment cuts under Medicare.

• Extension of a USDA program that replaces stolen SNAP benefits.

Time is of the essence and it’s important we get this temporary funding bill passed to avoid a government shutdown. After that, Congress must get to work passing bipartisan FY2025 funding bills when they return after the election.

Send a message to Congress now demanding they pass a clean CR.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Scoop: Dem leaders give all-clear to Johnson's spending bill