AUSTIN, Texas — On Capitol Hill on Friday, lawmakers scrambled as the clock ticked to pass a new spending bill or approve a stopgap agreement to avoid a government shutdown and keep the government open.
If lawmakers don’t agree to a plan by midnight on the East Coast, a government shutdown will impact programs nationwide.
Texas has 130,000 federal workers, the fifth-highest total in the nation.
For families like the Bittner’s in Pflugerville, it is a frustrating rollercoaster as they watch lawmakers race against time to pass a funding bill ahead of a government shutdown.
“Normally, you can step off roller coasters, but this is a roller coaster that, unfortunately, we can’t step off of and walk away from, and it’s hard,” Jennifer Bittner said.
Jennifer’s husband, Randall, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. Any time the government is at risk of shutting down, he worries his paycheck will dry up. They have three medically complex children.
“My two older boys have a rare disease and my youngest child has her own set of medical issues,” Bittner said. “I feel like each time a government shutdown comes on, I feel like here are all these inhalers and medications and stuff that you have to pick up. It is expensive copays that we have to pay.”
Bittner is the Executive Director and Lead Researcher for Exceptional Families of the Military.
This is the fourth time in the past 12 months they have faced the prospect of a shutdown.
“I still have a mortgage payment due January 1,” Bittner said. “I still have copays that I must pay today or tomorrow, and it doesn’t help when the pay isn’t there.”
It is not just about funding the government but also about paying government employees just days before Christmas. For millions of Americans, the feeling of gloom and uncertainty hangs over the holiday season. Some families are having to weigh how much they are able to spend on Christmas presents.
“For the families that celebrate Christmas, everything that must be extremely stressful if some people were hoping or depending on that paycheck to travel,” Bittner said. “Maybe those plans are put on hold, unfortunately.”
Lawmakers were set to vote on a funding bill with bipartisan support days ago until Elon Musk started criticizing what he called wasteful spending in the bill. President-Elect Donald Trump said there should not be any deal unless Congress gets rid of or extends the debt ceiling, which is the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow to pay its debts.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the funding bill in a bipartisan 366-34 vote on Friday evening.
The new bill does not address the debt limit, a key demand from President-Elect Donald Trump. It does include 100 billion dollars for disaster aid, 30 billion for farmers, and a one-year extension of the farm bill. The stopgap will fund the government through March 14.
Several members of Congress from Central Texas, including Rep. Greg Casar, Rep. Michael McCaul, Rep. John Carter, Rep. August Pfluger and Rep. Lloyd Doggett all voted for the three-month government spending bill.
“Proud to support the Trump-backed American Relief Act to chart a fiscally responsible path forward and provide much-needed relief to hurricane victims,” Carter tweeted. “Looking forward to a united government to get President Trump’s America First agenda done for the people in 2025.”
34 Republican lawmakers voted against the funding bill, including Congressman Chip Roy. He said the funding cuts and no debt limit were not enough for him to support it.
“While it was a marked improvement on the 1,547 page “cramnibus” that was released earlier this week, it still included $110 billion in supplemental funding with no offsets or pay-fors, which I cannot support,” Roy tweeted.
It is now up to senators to avoid a possible federal government shutdown. Senators have until Midnight on the East Coast to pass the bill if they want to keep the government running.
The plan will only temporarily fund the government through March 14, setting up another showdown in three months and continuing what has been a frustrating cycle of kicking the can down the road for families like the Bittner’s.
“It gets stressful, and sometimes it feels like things are all over the place, and then you have to bring it back together, and then they might pass a continuing resolution, or they might pass a budget, and then it’s like, OK we can all kind of calm down, but then we just get geared up again for the following year for it to all happen again,” Bittner said.
If Congress can’t agree to a deal, staff at the Central Texas Food Bank say they’ll be ready to help in any way they can.
The food bank, which serves 21 counties, said they are monitoring the impacts of a government shutdown while Congress debates funding measures.
If the government does shut down, Central Texas Food Bank President and CEO Sari Vatske said the need could surge soon after.
“A prolonged shutdown that lasts several weeks or more will result in an increased need for assistance for federal employees and contractors who will miss paychecks, many of whom are required to continue working in the event of a shutdown,” Vatske said. “CTFB is prepared to respond accordingly to support all impacted employees in our region, including active-duty military personnel and TSA workers.”
During a shutdown, food bank operations and federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP and WIC will not be disrupted.
A government shutdown would have wide-ranging effects. The TSA said it could lead to longer airport lines during the busy holiday travel season.
Members of the military, border patrol and air traffic controllers would still have to go to work, but they would not get paid. It is tough for federal workers who already live paycheck to paycheck as they try to keep the lights on and put food on the table.
“It’s just really disheartening to see how we’re being used as a pawn or as a chess piece in a bigger scheme,” Bittner said.
She has a message for lawmakers in the nation’s capital.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise that you’re going to have to work with people across the aisle you may or may not get along with. However, to really do your constituents justice and fulfill anything that you promised or want to accomplish during your time in Congress, now is the time to put aside any grievances you have with others and just get the job done,” she said. “Think about the families that will feel the consequences of your choices in a government shutdown.”