Happy Day After St. Patrick’s: Government shutdown avoided — at what cost?
There was more than one reason to have a drink this weekend, and we hope you did so responsibly. Right before the annual celebrations of Ireland’s patron saint, the US Senate on Friday approved a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded through Sept. 30, when the 2025 fiscal year ends.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and eight other Senate Democrats, plus Angus King (I-Me.), provided the 60 cloture votes needed to overcome the filibuster and hold a vote on the contentious spending bill, which itself required just a majority vote to pass. The Senate approved it by 54-46, avoiding a shutdown. King and Jeane Shaheen (D-NH) voted with the Republican majority, while Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to vote against it.
The move by Schumer and the other Senate Democrats to allow the vote on the spending bill, even if they ultimately voted against it, drew harsh criticism from House Democrats and progressives nationally.
That’s because it was not a typical continuing resolution to codify Congress’s spending appropriations for the remainder of the federal fiscal year. In this bill, originating in the Republican-controlled House, Congress surrenders its appropriations authority in some areas to President Donald Trump, allowing him to decide instead how to allocate spending.
Both of Georgia’s Democratic senators voted against the spending bill. Ahead of the vote, Sen. Raphael Warnock warned in a statement that the bill “omit[s] standard Congressional directives outlining how agencies should spend taxpayer dollars, giving the president unchecked spending power to hurt Georgians.”
“With this new power, the president could cut renewable energy investments, devastating Georgia’s advanced manufacturing economy or the president could choose which Army Corps of Engineers projects to fund, potentially halting the expansion of the Port of Savannah,” Warnock said.
Sen. Jon Ossoff released his own March 13 statement, saying he opposed both the cloture vote and the “House GOP’s partisan budget proposal.”
“The House bill also irresponsibly fails to impose any constraints on the reckless and out-of-control Trump administration. The administration is gutting the CDC and the VA while destabilizing the economy,” Ossoff said. “Both parties in Congress must fulfill our constitutional obligation to check the president.”
Perhaps anticipating public outcry over the vote, Schumer cancelled a planned book-tour event Monday.
ICYMI: What bills survived Crossover Day?
Atlanta Civic Circle continues to track Gold Dome legislation that impacts labor, housing and democracy. Check out our team’s rundown of bills that made it past Crossover Day on March 6, which was the last day for a bill in the state House or Senate to “cross over” to the other chamber.
We’re also covering a senate bill that, for the first time, would regulate how local Georgia governments use artificial intelligence (AI). Even though Senate Bill 37 failed to make it out of committee and cross over to the House, it still has a shot.
That’s because several senators are considering whether they can integrate aspects of SB 37 into a related bill, House Bill 147, which would regulate how state agencies use AI. The House voted unanimously to send that bill to the Senate.
Check out our update on the two AI regulation bills after a senate hearing last week: Find out how Georgia legislators are approaching AI regulation for state and local governments, and how the city of Atlanta and other municipalities are already using it.
What we’re watching: PRO Act reintroduced
Labor unions cheered a bipartisan group of Congress members for reintroducing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act earlier this month. This marks the fourth Congress to try and pass the bill.
The PRO Act would strengthen workers’ rights to hold union elections without interference from management and close loopholes that allow management to misclassify workers as contract or “gig” workers. It also would strengthen newly unionized workers’ ability to collectively bargain for a first contract with their employer.
Republicans and business groups generally oppose the bill, saying it would give unions too much power, hurt businesses and violate “right-to-work” laws in states like Georgia, which allow workers in unionized shops to opt ouf of paying union dues.
Republican support for the bill is limited — only five Republican representatives voted for it when it passed the House in 2021. Of those five, only three are still serving: Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.-1), Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2) and Chris Smith (NJ-4).
Trump’s labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, flip-flopped away from her support for the bill during her confirmation hearing.
NLRB has a quorum, for now
A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C. has ruled that President Donald Trump’s firing of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat, was illegal. Judge Beryl Howell on March 6 ordered Wilcox reinstated, which gives the NLRB board three members out of a possible five.
That is enough for the NLRB board to form a quorum, so it can adjudicate disputes between employers and employees andenforce fair labor standards. The Trump administration is appealing the ruling, but, for now at least, the country has a functional NLRB.
PSA: Atlanta Municipal Court is offering amnesty to traffic scofflaws
The Atlanta Municipal Court launched an amnesty program Monday that runs through April 21 for people who’ve received “failure to appear” warrants for traffic offenses only. If you were ticketed for a traffic violation and missed your court date, you can contact the court to resolve your case without fear of arrest.
Keep in mind that if you’ve missed a traffic court date, there could be an outstanding warrant for your arrest in the system, even if you don’t remember receiving it. Contact the municipal court to see if your case qualifies. You can call the court at (404) 954-7914.
Want to serve on a Fulton County citizen board?
If you’re a resident of the Fulton County Commission’s District 4, your commissioner, Mo Ivory, wants you to throw your hat in the ring to serve on a Fulton citizen board, ranging from zoning appeals to homeless continuum of care. To see what citizen boards have openings and apply, click here.
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