Senators Push Proposal to Keep Congress in Town Until New Federal Budget Is Approved

Congress is embroiled in a budget impasse that seems likely to force a government shutdown but a bipartisan group of senators think they have a better way

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) speaks during a rally in Washington on June 20, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A bipartisan group of senators led by James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Angus King (I-Maine) thinks members of Congress should stay in the nation’s capital as long as it takes, without any days off, until the 2024 federal budget is completed.

Titled the “Prevent Government Shutdowns Act” of 2023, the Lankford–Scott proposal was introduced in January to little fanfare but is now getting attention because of Congress’s inability to come up with a spending plan that enough Democrats and Republicans support to become law.