The short-term spending bill (continuing resolution, or CR) intended to end the U.S. federal government shutdown has been rejected by the Senate once again.

As a result, the shutdown—which involves budget cuts and the suspension of various programs, along with the potential for mass furloughs or layoffs of federal employees—is set to continue into next week.

On the third day of the shutdown (local time, the 3rd), the U.S. Senate held a plenary session to vote on CRs proposed separately by the Republican and Democratic parties to avoid the shutdown, but both were defeated. Passing a bill in the Senate requires a minimum of 60 votes from the 100 members.

First, the Democratic CR was rejected with 46 votes in favor and 52 against. The current Senate composition is 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats. Considering that one member from each party did not participate in the vote, the result is similar to the vote on the first day of the shutdown (47 in favor, 53 against).

This CR proposed extending the temporary budget deadline until October 31 and included provisions such as extending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a core demand of the Democratic party; however, all Republican senators voted against it.

The subsequent vote on the Republican CR was also rejected, with 54 votes in favor and 44 against. The vote on the 1st was 55 in favor and 45 against, a similar outcome when accounting for those who did not vote.

This bill, which passed the House on the 19th of last month under Republican leadership but was rejected by the Senate that same day, proposed extending the temporary budget deadline to November 21 while maintaining current spending levels.

With four consecutive attempts to process a CR ending in failure, concerns are rising that the shutdown could be prolonged.

Senate Budget Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) told reporters, "The goalposts keep moving," adding, "The situation is not very good right now."

While the next vote is expected on the 6th, the Republican and Democratic parties have continued back-channel negotiations over the CR and the extension of ACA subsidies without finding common ground.

As of now, the positions of each party do not appear to have narrowed significantly, as both sides are calculating how to gain an advantage in the negotiations.

Republicans maintain that the government must resume operations by passing their version of the CR before they can discuss extending ACA subsidies. This is seen as an attempt to buy time until late next month, when the Thanksgiving holiday begins, to pressure the Democrats into making concessions.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) reiterated the party’s position that resuming government operations must come first, stating, "I can't make any promises or commitments on the ACA subsidies. I can't guarantee that there are enough votes (within the party) to support that."

Meanwhile, the Democrats are demanding a prior guarantee for the extension of ACA subsidies while offering to extend the temporary budget deadline until the end of this month. This appears to be motivated by the fact that ACA subsidy applications begin on the 1st of next month, a strategy to use that as leverage against the Republicans.

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) remarked, "The real guarantee has to come from the White House, because the White House is doing these things unilaterally."

Temporary budget bill rejected again in Senate vote. UPI Yonhap News. 

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