House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) announced Friday that he would stick with the $1.66 trillion spending deal to avert a government shutdown next week, leading conservative Republicans to say they would vote against it. received immediate backlash.
“Our top-line agreement remains in place. We are finalizing our next steps and working toward a robust spending process. So stay tuned for future developments,” Johnson said. He spoke to reporters at the Capitol.
“The top-line agreement includes hard-won concessions to further reduce billions of dollars in IRS subsidies and COVID-era slush funds as you know,” he continued. , referred to other “accounting tricks” in last year's debt ceiling bill negotiated by the IRS. His predecessor is former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“This brings Congress much closer to normal order. That's our big commitment,” Johnson added, reaffirming a return to the typical 12-bill spending process for funding the federal government.
If passed, the continuing resolution would fund the government through the end of fiscal year 2024 on September 30, and would put $888 billion into the U.S. defense budget and $704 billion into non-defense discretionary spending. Become.
But an additional $69 billion will be earmarked for discretionary spending as part of the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act side agreement that Mr. McCarthy struck with President Biden.
The bill includes $16 billion in cuts to the IRS and COVID-19 relief package, and all non-defense spending and other funding if separate appropriations are not passed by April 30, 2024. It also includes a 1% reduction in the cap.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a strong supporter of the provision, urged his House Republican colleagues at a Thursday meeting. Post to X Don't “ignore” the law that causes a 1% reduction for the entire year.
The last time Congress passed an entire spending bill before the funding deadline was in 1996. The government will reach its first fiscal cliff on January 19th and its second fiscal cliff on February 2nd.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is open to a stopgap funding bill until February 9. CNN reported.
The House speaker has been celebrating a top-line agreement between his office and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) over the past week, but hard-line Republicans are worried that significant spending cuts will not be made. I was angry about that.
“The defense hawks keep running through the swamp. That's what killed Kevin. That's what's killing Mike,” said a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who ruled out resigning as chairman. said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).
“This is not the end of this fight. We were not authorized to spend beyond the majority.” [House Speaker emerita] Nancy Pelosi. ”
Former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) echoed the criticism in a video statement. Posted on Xaccused “certain people” of “putting special interests above the nation.”
“This doesn't fix the border. This won't slow the cost of living increases we face every day,” Perry said. “I'm not going to vote for this. If this is the final outcome, I guarantee you that.”
In a Dec. 29 statement, the Freedom Caucus said: warned The nation's debt is expected to “exceed $36 trillion” by the end of 2024, with annual interest payments on that debt amounting to nearly $1 trillion.
Caucus members like Rep. Ralph Norman (R.S.C.) gathered in Mr. Johnson's office on Thursday to describe some of the fiscal victories Mr. Johnson cited in the deal as “typical Washington.” After rejecting the government funding bill as a “calculation,” he called for the government funding bill to be abandoned.
Mr. McCarthy joined eight Republicans on October 3, after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) led the motion to resign and passed a similar bipartisan bill to avert a government shutdown. He was ousted by House Democrats.
The dismissal began a three-week search for a new House speaker, as Republican lawmakers nominated three candidates in quick succession, but all failed in the House vote, and Johnson was unanimously elected leader.
One Republican aide told the Post that Mr. Johnson was not expected to meet the same fate, given “all the chaos he caused last time.”
Schumer had already announced that the Senate would vote in favor of the funding measure on Tuesday, and in a floor speech a day earlier, accused House Republicans of trying to “bully” the House Republican speaker into a partial shutdown. did.
Republican aides added that the continuing resolution would likely pass the House even with an equal number of “no” votes from lawmakers who opposed the funding bill Mr. McCarthy introduced last September.
“House Republicans voted in favor of the deal in May. Chairman Johnson reaffirmed that on Sunday and again this morning,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Friday. “We have a deal, and Republicans need to keep their word and stop trying to shut down the government.”
