House passes short-term funding bill to avert shutdown

The House approved a short-term funding bill Thursday to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend, sending the bill to the Senate a day before Friday’s funding deadline.

The bill, which passed the chamber on a 320-99 vote, would extend two deadlines for government funding to March 8 and March 22, allowing lawmakers to iron out differences on the spending bill and get it over the finish line. This will buy you more time.

However, problems can occur.

Lawmakers say they have reached agreement on six spending bills to be introduced next week, but have no opinion on six others, including controversial bills regarding funding agencies such as the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Differences remain.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chairman of the Democratic caucus, said last minute that the second batch of bills is “clear, especially as House Republicans continue to advocate policy riders that erode women’s reproductive freedom.” “It can be difficult and problematic,” he said. vote.

In the short term, the continuing resolution will keep the government open and provide a small victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who is struggling to avoid a government shutdown blamed on House Republicans. become.

But this puts him on thin ice with right-wing lawmakers. They hate short-term spending bills and are growing weary of his penchant for bringing continuing resolutions to the floor, which passed with Democratic support, as was the case Thursday.

Thursday’s vote is the fourth stopgap bill the Legislature has passed this session, and the third under the leadership of Louisiana Republicans.

To avoid opposition from conservatives, Mr. Johnson brought the bill to the floor under a suspension of rules. This is a fast-track process that would require a two-thirds majority to pass, but would eliminate the need to approve procedural rules that conservatives would likely balk at.

It was a maneuver that led to the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who lost the gavel in September after passing a short-term spending bill with the help of Democrats.

But Mr Johnson’s job appears to be safe for the time being. Conservatives quickly voiced their opposition to the spending bill Thursday, but stopped short of vowing retaliation against top Republicans.

“Mr. Speaker, we are once again kicking the can in the street,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Thursday on the House floor. “Let’s buy more time so we can spend more of the money we don’t have.”

Asked earlier in the day whether Johnson would have to face any consequences for moving the short-term spending bill, Mr Roy said: “I’m not going to talk about that.” “They will lose faith in the Republican Party,” he added. ”

The deal signed by Congressional leaders this week provides funding to the departments of Military Construction, Water Development, Food and Drug Administration, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Interior, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. Two spending bills were included. Deadline: March 8th.

The remaining six measures (funding for Financial Services, General Government, Legislature, Foreign Activities, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Labor, Health and Human Services) are expected to be submitted by March 22.

Leaders said negotiators had reached agreement on six bills to be tabled next week, and Mr Johnson on Thursday said they would like to give member states enough time to consider the provisions before a vote next week. He said the package would be made public this weekend.

But senior appropriators suggest there may still be some loose ends to be resolved before the text is published.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters Wednesday night that “there is still one item to finalize,” including outstanding items in areas such as WIC and SNAP benefits. There are maybe two,” he said. Gun-related disorders.

Conservative Republicans are pushing for the funding bill to include many conservative policy priorities, but Republican leaders are trying to temper expectations ahead of the budget, warning lawmakers not to expect a “home run.” is warning.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), the top Republican on the subcommittee that funds the Interior and Environment Departments, said in remarks to reporters Thursday that top negotiators said the subcommittee’s bill ” There were a few things left at the end.” I was dealing with it. ”

“But I can tell you that we were not able to accommodate the huge, huge, supermajority that the House was trying to move forward with,” Murkowski told reporters Thursday. “We’re about to get our bill.”

Some of the measures sought by Republicans as part of the Interior funding bill could target the Biden administration’s environmental regulations while increasing drilling opportunities offshore and on public lands.

The party’s initial proposal also includes language aimed at the administration’s executive orders on diversity, as it calls for a list of special provisions on thorny areas such as abortion and critical race theory, which have drawn the ire of Democrats. It was included.

But that doesn’t mean rank-and-file Republicans are holding their breath over major conservative policy victories.

“We’ll get the text in plenty of time. We’ll pass the 72-hour deadline, but we’re not expecting a big win,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said Thursday. “So we expect probably 100 Republicans to vote against it.”

Mike Lillis contributed.