As shutdown looms, Oklahoma Republicans look to win spending cuts and border changes

The federal government appears headed for a shutdown in less than two weeks, as Republicans hope to use their slim majority in the House to force spending cuts and tighter restrictions at the southern border.

Thousands of federal workers in Oklahoma, and hundreds of thousands nationwide, could miss paychecks if a compromise isn’t reached.

The Republican Study Committee, an influential House group headed by Rep. Kevin Hern, of Tulsa, said Thursday that it would support a “conservative” measure to keep the government open temporarily that includes spending cuts and provisions to address “the ongoing immigration crisis.”

Freshman Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate, said in an interview that Republicans must use their leverage. He said he would not support a temporary funding measure that kept spending on the current trajectory and didn’t address the situation at the southern border.

“I want reform,” said Brecheen, who is part of the House Freedom Caucus, a hardline conservative group. “I am going to be a change agent in the position that the 2nd Congressional District has given me the opportunity to be for them and not continue the status quo.”

The federal government’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Congress has not passed any of the 12 appropriations to fund departments and agencies beginning on Oct. 1, and there is no prospect for that to happen.

Failing to get spending bills approved on time has become routine in Congress. But part of that routine is the approval of a “continuing resolution,” a stopgap measure that keeps departments operating at the previously approved levels. Now, House Republicans want to put conditions on a stopgap measure that Democrats oppose.

Republicans control the House, while Democrats control the Senate and the White House. The GOP margin in the House is narrow, meaning Republicans need near unanimity to pass legislation without any Democratic support.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, a member of the House leadership and a high-ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, posted a message on social media last week saying that Congress should pass a bipartisan continuing resolution.

“A government shutdown would not be helpful to anybody,” Cole said. “They always cost more than you think they’re gonna. In addition to that, quite frankly, if people try to use shutdowns to achieve objectives — and sometimes they do; I’ve seen both parties do it — you never achieve the objective that you’re trying to do.”

'Threats don’t matter': McCarthy taunts hardline Republicans as government shutdown approaches

Asked whether veteran lawmakers were counseling him about the fallout from shutdowns, Brecheen said, “There have been times where the American people saw Republicans fight and saw them be successful in terms of winning concessions, and there have been times when they haven’t. It really all depends on if you’re really serious about it or not.

“We see the border wide open, we see the national security threat that that is, we see inflation and we see the debt-loading we’re doing to our kids and grandkids. …  We’ve got to stop thinking short term and start thinking long term.”

Meanwhile, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, a veteran of shutdowns, is pressing for a vote on legislation he has proposed to avoid another one.

“We just want to prevent government shutdowns,” Lankford, a Republican, said in a speech on the Senate floor. “We just want to be able to stop the chaos and actually be able to show the American people this body can have the arguments, resolve our differences, and move forward.”

Lankford’s bill, which he has sponsored for the last few years with New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, would automatically keep government open while Congress was effectively forced to stay in Washington until a budget compromise was reached; members could not use federal money or campaign funds to travel out of Washington.

Lankford has been a harsh critic of President Joe Biden’s border policies, and he has called for curbing federal spending. But he said lawmakers should hash these things out without hurting the federal workforce and the people who rely on government services.

“We should have our arguments,” he said. “We are a representative republic. Every single voice counts, and we don't all agree. Great, bring it. That demonstrates us at our best. But let's resolve those issues, rather than having government shutdowns and chaos ensuing. Because we need to set a better example for the world.”

Five years after longest shutdown

The current standoff comes nearly five years after partisan fighting over former President Donald Trump’s border wall led to the longest federal government shutdown ever — 35 days. Trump demanded $6 billion to build the wall but relented as 800,000 workers faced a second missed paycheck and air travel was being affected.

Oklahoma City is home to the Federal Aviation Administration’s training academy for air traffic controllers. According to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, about 3,300 people work there. During the shutdown that began in late 2018, officials at the FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center had to cancel contracts and pilot training courses and suspend some contractor-provided services. That same thing could happen again.

Without a stopgap funding measure, many civilian workers at the U.S. Department of Defense will be affected. Thousands of civilians work at military bases in Oklahoma; the workforce at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma County repairs and maintains critical aircraft for multiple services. The Defense Department issued guidance recently regarding furlough policies. Military personnel on active duty are not furloughed during a shutdown.

Social Security checks and veterans' benefits would not be interrupted. But other agencies would have to cease operations in the absence of a temporary spending measure.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, said recently that Republicans had agreed during the debt ceiling crisis in May to spending levels for the 2024 fiscal year and should honor the deal.

“I mean, look, the shutdown should not happen,” Jean-Pierre said recently. “That is Congress’s job: to avoid a shutdown. I’ve said over and over again here at this podium just — for the past couple of minutes that these are vital programs that American families need.

“So, that’s their basic duty.  Their basic duty is to keep the government open.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thousands of Oklahomans could be sent home in government shutdown