How Texas lawmakers voted on the government shutdown bills

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The federal government shutdown Wednesday after the Senate failed to pass bill that would have extended funding through Nov. 21.

H.R. 5371 passed in the house but fell five votes short of the 60 required to pass in the Senate.

Senators are leaving for observance of Yom Kippur, so the shut down is expected to endure through at least Friday. The House is also not in session and will not return until next week, so there is no clear timeline as to when the necessary funding legislation will be passed to end the shutdown.

How did Texas lawmakers vote on the shutdown bills?

Both Texas Senators, Ted Cruz (R) and John Cornyn (R), voted in favor of the shutdown bill.

The two lawmakers took to X (formerly Twitter) to comment on the shutdown.

Cruz posted a video imposing a sombrero and mustache on the 44 Senate Democrats who voted against the bill, the song "Macarena" playing in the background.

Calling it "Schumer's Shutdown," Cruz vowed the "Sombrero posting will continue until they re-open our government."

Cornyn also criticized Democrats, saying they "caused the government shutdown by refusing to simply vote for a clean stopgap funding bill until November."

What does a government shutdown mean?

A government shutdown is induced with Congress fails to pass an annual appropriations bill, or temporary funding mechanism called a Continuing Resolution (CR), that funds federal agencies and operations for the upcoming fiscal year.

With no money coming down the pipeline, many federal employees are being furloughed as a cost-saving mechanism, meaning they are forced to take a leave of absence.

Essential employees must still come to work, though without pay.

Both furloughed and essential employees will eventually see a paycheck for their labor after the shutdown ends, but it is unclear when that date will arrive.

The last government shutdown occurred in late 2018 and lasted 35 days into 2019.

How might the government shutdown affect me?

For everyday citizens, a shutdown can spell trouble in a variety of different areas.

Texas Representative Lloyd Doggett told KXAN on Wednesday that air travel might be heavily impeded. Although control tower and airport security employees are considered essential, they are not being paid.

Social Security benefits will continue through the shutdown, but staffing shortages could delay processing times for new applications.

NBC reports that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expects that 32,000 of its 80,000 workers will be furloughed, affecting agencies like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration.

HHS will not process Freedom of Information Act requests for the duration of the shutdown.

What was included in the shutdown bills?

H.R. 5371 was a continuing resolution that would extend federal funding through Nov. 21.

Passed in the House, it failed in the Senate. It sought to extend several expiring programs, including those related to

• Public health, Medicare, and Medicaid
• Veterans and Veterans Affairs
• Department of Agriculture livestock mandatory price reporting program
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cybersecurity programs
• Special assessments for nonindigent offenders involving sexual abuse or human trafficking
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program

The final vote ended in a 55-45 split. Most Democrats voted "nay" on the bill due to concerns about health care.

They are demanding that legislation to reverse cuts made to Medicaid in President Trump's tax breaks over the summer be included in the bill.

Democrats also want to extend tax credits that would make health insurance premiums more affordable for Americans who purchase from marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act.