Problem Solvers Caucus releases proposal to avert shutdown

The Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of U.S. House representatives co-chaired by New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), released a government funding proposal last night that would avert a looming government shutdown, which will happen if Congress can’t reach a deal by September 30.

Under the caucus’s plan, Congress would temporarily fund the government through January 2024 via a continuing resolution (CR), a type of stopgap bill that Congress can pass if a full funding plan isn’t ready yet. The CR would include funds for Ukraine aid and disaster relief, two priorities of Democrats and the White House, as well as new border security controls that Republicans have pushed for.

The next three months would then be dedicated to passing the 12 full appropriations bills necessary to fund the government long-term, with funding set at the levels agreed to under last spring’s Fiscal Responsibility Act.

“This bipartisan framework provides a roadmap to stop a government shutdown, help hard-working families, spur our economy, and protect our national security,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “It’s about commonsense governing over extremism – and it’s the way Washington should work.”

The plan also contains several bigger-picture proposals to make future government funding processes less torturous, including regular reports from the president and comptroller general on the nation’s budget and a new Fiscal Commission to make recommendations on addressing long-term deficits.

In addition to Gottheimer, the Problem Solvers Caucus includes two other New Jerseyans, Republican Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and Democrat Donald Norcross (D-Camden). The caucus overall has more than 60 House members, all of whom are now locked into supporting the shutdown proposal under the caucus’s internal rules.

But whether the full House will even consider the proposal is another matter entirely. Right now, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is still working to cobble together support within his own caucus for a more conservative CR with no funding for Ukraine or disaster aid.

Even that more conservative CR, though, is struggling to get support from a few GOP holdouts on the rightmost edge of the House. Their intransigence could force McCarthy into negotiating with Democrats and passing something akin to the Problem Solvers Caucus’s proposal – or it could lead to a government shutdown.