Congress faces a deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Both parties are digging in their heels, and some Republicans have expressed skepticism over their party’s plans with less than a week left before the funding runs out.

On Monday, lawmakers will return to Washington to face a deadline of Sept. 30, to avoid a government shut down. While the upcoming elections may reduce the likelihood of a funding gap, House Republicans have already begun preparing for a potentially messy and weeks-long battle with the Democratic-led Senate over issues such as voting requirements and expenditure.

The House GOP leadership announced a plan Friday that aims to link a six-month “stopgap” (also known as a CR) with a bill backed by the former president Trump and conservative hardliners that demands stricter requirements for proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said: “Today House Republicans take a critical step to ensure the funding of our federal government and to safeguard our federal electoral process.” After the bill’s unveiling, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) said:

Dems Would Rather Forget Here we are, 23 years after 9/11/2001, and it seems like we’re doomed to repeat history, thanks to Kamala and the Democrat’s disastrous policies like the wide-open border and a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. I’m Lt. Gen. Jack Bergman. We must remain vigilant in defeating anyone who seeks to do harm to this great nation. Join me so we can defend our homeland together. 1776 Coalition Sponsored

“Congress must do both and ensure that only American voters can decide American election.”

Conservatives have increased their calls for a temporary stopgap beyond December in the hope that Trump will return to the Oval Office by January. They also want to avoid an omnibus end-of-year spending bill that was negotiated between leadership of both chambers.

House Republicans will likely move quickly to adopt the proposal. Johnson, however, has already been met with some skepticism regarding the strategy’s success.

Some members of the party warn against making assumptions about the outcome of November’s election. One House Republican told The Hill that they were worried about the appropriations process being left to a new Congress.

The member stated that “you’re going put brand new members who just got elected in a tough vote on an Appropriations Package when they don’t even understand the Appropriations Process,” noting Congress must also deal with the Debt Limit in January.

And still others in the party questioned attaching the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to a CR, noting that such a measure is all but certain to be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Two conservatives have already spoken out against the CR. Johnson cannot afford to lose more than four Republican votes for any partisan bill.

If Schumer wanted to, he could put the SAVE Act on a ballot and pass it. He won’t. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said: “He wants illegals voting in American elections.” In a social media post, X referred to Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D – N.Y.).

He added, “We need to focus on passing ALL 12 bills of appropriations!”

Some, however, are eager to see the GOP push forward, especially after the party was unable to pass a number of its partisan spending bills prior to leaving for recess at the end of July, due to internal divisions over the policy.

In an interview with The Hill, Chip Roy, the lead sponsor of SAVE Act and the SAVE Act’s creator, said: “Republicans have two options. They can either sit around and do their usual claptrap or they can unite, and figure out how to strategize for the next couple of months.”

“But we have to decide what we are going to do with government funding and what we will do to differentiate ourselves from Democrats.”

Democrats have reacted strongly to the partisan CR Plan.

In a response to the GOP’s proposal, Shalanda Youn, director of White House Office of Management and Budget said: “There is a bipartisan way to fund the government responsibly, but Congressional Republicans waste time.”

“Their 6-month CR ignores urgent needs that have real implications for our defense and veterans as well as our communities. We urge Congress quickly to pass a bill that will keep the government operating and provide emergency funds for disaster needs throughout the country. They have done this on a bipartisan level many times before.

Congress will also have to deal with a budget deficit of approximately $3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The agency warned Congress earlier this summer of the risk that veterans and survivors would see their benefits interrupted in October if Congress didn’t act before Sept. 20, a little over a week prior to the deadline for the shutdown.

The VA cited PACT Act as the main driver of the budget shortfall. It cited increases in VA health care enrollment, appointments, and application benefits.

Sen. John Boozman (Ark. The top Republican on the subcommittee responsible for determining annual VA funding was asked before recess if the stopgap bill could be used to pass legislation to address the $3 billion deficit.

Boozman noted that there was a “possibility”, that the emergency funds would be dependent on a CR.

Both sides of the aisle had hoped to address the budget deficit before they left town last month. However, the effort was stymied by increased scrutiny over what Republicans claim is mismanagement within the agency.

House Republicans announced Friday a plan for emergency funding to help address the shortfall. However, the party did not specify when the bill would be put up for vote.