WASHINGTON — It's a true case of good news, bad news.
Thanks to votes late Thursday by the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, the federal government won't be shutting down at 12 a.m. on Saturday.
However, the method lawmakers used to avoid it was not a proper full-year appropriation bill. It was a legislative temporary funding gimmick known as a continuing resolution.
It keeps the funding pipeline flowing, but at last year's levels, meaning there can be no growth, no expansion, no upgrades, until Congress gets around to passing an actual appropriations bill.
Friday, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Virginia, 2nd District) was worried about the precedent being set.
"It has a huge impact on our region in Hampton Roads," Luria said, "and when you look at all the contracts for ship building, ship repair, that requires proper planning, contracting and being able to execute that over the course of the fiscal year. If you wait until, in this case, February, it will be four months into the fiscal year. It's not an acceptable way to operate."
According to a Government Accountability Office report, this is the 12th time in 13 years that the Department of Defense has started a new fiscal year under a continuing resolution.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) also was concerned that a shutdown almost happened.
"I'm grateful my colleagues were able to avert crisis and vote to keep the government funded," he wrote in a tweet. "But it's tiring to keep playing this political football – the benefits of the elderly, vets, and federal employees shouldn't be used as a bargaining chip."
Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) voted "yes" to keep the government open.
So did Luria, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Virginia, 3rd District) and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Virginia, 4th District).
According to the House Clerk Roll Call, the only member of the Hampton Roads House delegation to vote no was Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia, 1st District).