Congressman Fred Upton will likely wrap up his time in Congress this weekend as the House votes on a massive spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. He tells us a temporary measure passed last week, and now an omnibus bill to keep the government functioning through September 30 will get a vote late this week or this weekend.
“I think that it’s going to pass with a narrow margin in the House with a larger margin in the Senate,” Upton said. “Basically, the Senate is going to get the 60 votes to get it done and then they’re going to get out of town. They’re not going to want any changes at all. So, they’re going to go back home, and they’re going to give that hot dog to us, and we either accept it, or we shut down the government in the House. and my guess is that we will accept it.”
Upton says the bill includes funding for Ukraine and veterans. It also changes the election law to prevent a single member of the House or Senate form holding up election certification by challenging a state’s results. The bill changes the challenge threshold to 20% of the chamber’s members. Upton expects his final vote will be on this bill, and then he’ll be heading home for Christmas. Upton tells us he’s cast more than 21,000 votes in his nearly four decades in Congress. this vote will likely be his last as a member of the U.S. House.
