Congress votes to avert shutdown, sending short-term funding bill to Biden’s desk

The House approved a short-term spending bill Thursday to keep the government funded through March, sending the stopgap bill to President Biden's desk for signature a day before the deadline for the partial shutdown.

Hours after the Senate approved the bill, Congress passed a two-step continuing resolution (CR) by a vote of 314-108, extending government funding deadlines to March 1 and March 8. , which bought time for lawmakers to complete the formal spending process. The bill is the third short-term spending bill Congress has approved for fiscal year 2024.

The stopgap passage means a hurdle has been cleared for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who has struck a deal with other congressional leaders to avert a shutdown and then , was able to pitch the proposal to enough members of the conference. Cross the finish line.

But the speaker has had to rely heavily on Democratic support after conservatives opposed the proposal, citing spending cuts and a lack of border security policy. Only two Democrats voted against the bill.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was fired in October after making a similar decision.

Johnson has a challenge ahead of him. The speaker has vowed to fight to secure support for conservative policies in the 12 annual spending bills, but that goal will be difficult to achieve against Democrats in the Senate and White House.

“I think we can get policy riders and policy changes,” he told CNN's Caitlan Collins in an interview Wednesday night.

After holding the gavel for just 85 days, he is walking on thin ice with conservative Republicans who are unhappy with his handling of government funding issues and the issue of additional aid to Ukraine. Hardliners objected to the biggest spending deal Johnson struck with Democratic leaders earlier this month, posing further challenges to his fledgling chairmanship.

Prime Minister Johnson last week rejected calls from conservatives to scrap the bipartisan spending agreement he had endorsed just days earlier, and brushed aside a proposal from the right to bring a long-term continuing resolution to the floor, saying he would % approval rating was supposed to be activated. This is a sweeping reduction mechanism included in the debt limitation agreement that Mr. McCarthy struck with Mr. Biden last year.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said there does not appear to be a strong threat to Mr. McCarthy's chairmanship, but that they believe it could be used to oust Mr. McCarthy. proposed a compulsory submission of a motion to resign. .

Thursday's passage was not without some last-minute drama.

First, House Republican leaders rushed to the floor as Washington braced for Friday's snowfall, announcing that they would vote on the two-phase temporary bill Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning. The Senate approved the bill early Thursday afternoon after leaders solidified a time agreement Wednesday night.

Later, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a member of the conservative group, sided with Mr. Johnson and added an amendment. I suggested. Vote on border and immigration policy as part of the government funding process. Mr Good said Mr Johnson was “considering it”.

However, the Speaker rejected this plea and urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to adopt tough tactics in the government funding process, although it would be a major blow to the process planned to avert a government shutdown. It was a further blow to the conservatives who had supported the government, but it was in vain.

After Prime Minister Boris Johnson's press secretary said there were no changes to the government's funding plan, Goode told The Hill: “What we're trying to do is reduce spending and protect the country's borders. It's about doing what's best for them.” “We’re trying to help him and be partners in making that happen.”

“Unfortunately, at this time, the decision has been made to form a coalition with the Democratic Party on important legislation that is important to the country,” he added.

Asked if there would be any repercussions for Mr Johnson, Mr Good said: “We'll see.”

Some conservatives opposed the CR on Thursday, but the two-tier framework is what they supported in the previous CR.

Members of the right saw this unconventional structure as a way to avoid a huge year-end omnibus bill that would involve the entire government.

Under the new measure, lawmakers agreed to extend funding for four of the 12 annual spending bills until March 1, including agriculture, transportation, housing and urban development, energy, the Food and Drug Administration, Avoided funding shortages in other ministries. .

The bill also extends deadlines for remaining government agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services, from February 2 to March 8.

Spending cardinals in both chambers say they need additional time to finalize all 12 funding bills, but they are already waiting for decisions from top negotiators on the distribution of each of the dozen spending bills. Some are concerned about the pace of negotiations.

“I don’t think this is a good sign,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), head of the subcommittee that oversees Pentagon funding, told The Hill on Thursday. But he added that Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) are working on a deal “to get the numbers.”

If Congress has to pass another stopgap bill in March, it would be the fourth lawmaker to do so this session, as partisan divides over spending remain deep. There are also concerns on Capitol Hill about the looming April deadline for automatic spending cuts if Congress doesn't finish their work on time.

“That's what I'm worried about,” Tester said. “So the truth is, there needs to be some urgency.”