Work with colleagues to pass a bipartisan solution and reopen the federal government swiftly.

I am committed to working with my colleagues to reopen the government swiftly.

Bell committed to working with colleagues to reopen the government quickly during the shutdown.

Government Shutdown: What You Need to Know | Representative Wesley Bell
secondary · other · model gpt-5.5

Congress.gov records H.R.5371 as introduced on 2025-09-16, passed by the House 217-212 on 2025-09-19, failing in the Senate on 2025-09-19 and 2025-09-30, passing the Senate 60-40 on 2025-11-10, passing the House again 222-209 on 2025-11-12, and becoming Public Law 119-37 on 2025-11-12.

The funding measure that reopened the government became law more than six weeks after the October 1 funding lapse, so the government was not reopened swiftly. The Senate passage was bipartisan, but Bell's own House vote is addressed in roll-call evidence.

never same_term

Actions - H.R.5371 - Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%

Roll Call Vote 285 lists the vote question as concurring in the Senate amendment to H.R.5371. The result was passed 222-209, with Democrats voting 6 yea and 207 nay. Bell, Wesley [D-MO] is listed as Nay.

Bell voted against the final House action on the bipartisan Senate-amended bill that became law the same day and reopened the government.

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House Roll Call Vote 285, 119th Congress - H.R.5371 Senate Amendment
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 97%

Roll Call Vote 281 shows H.R.5371 passed the House 217-212 on 2025-09-19. The Democratic tally was 1 yea and 210 nay, and Bell, Wesley [D-MO] is listed as Nay.

Bell also voted against the initial House continuing-resolution bill before the shutdown began. This does not show concrete action by Bell to pass a bipartisan reopening solution.

never same_term

House Roll Call Vote 281, 119th Congress - H.R.5371 On Passage
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 94%

The enrolled text cites the act as the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026. It includes a Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 division and states that the time covered by divisions A through D is considered to have begun on October 1, 2025.

The final law retroactively covered the lapse period beginning October 1, confirming it addressed a shutdown/funding gap after the fact rather than preventing or swiftly ending it.

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Text - H.R.5371 - Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 90%

The Washington Post reported that the House voted 222-209 to end the record-long shutdown, with six Democrats joining Republicans. It identified the six Democratic supporters as Golden, Gray, Gluesenkamp Perez, Davis, Suozzi, and Cuellar, and said the bipartisan compromise combined three full-year funding measures with a stopgap through January 30.

Independent reporting based on U.S. House data confirms the shutdown was record-long and that Bell was not among the Democrats who supported the final reopening bill.

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How every House member voted on the bill to reopen the government
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 90%

Roll Call Vote 70 shows H.R.1968 passed the House 217-213 on 2025-03-11. The Democratic tally was 1 yea and 212 nay, and Bell, Wesley [D-MO] is listed as Nay.

Earlier in the same Congress, Bell voted against another government-funding measure that later became law and averted a shutdown. This supports a pattern of not personally voting for the cross-party funding measures that kept or restored government operations.

never same_term

House Roll Call Vote 70, 119th Congress - H.R.1968 On Passage
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 82%