The House approved the bill to avert a government shutdown hours before Friday's deadline, sending it to the Senate for consideration after a whirlwind week on Capitol Hill.
The chamber supported the bill 366-34-1, clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for passage since Republican leaders brought it to the floor under an expedited suspension of the rules process. . All Democrats except one, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who voted present, joined 170 Republicans in voting yes.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R.S., told reporters the Senate could act on the continuing resolution Friday. Lawmakers are eyeing the midnight deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) praised the bill after the vote, calling it “an 'America First' bill because it puts us in a position to serve the American people.”
“In January, we're going to see big changes in Washington. President Trump will be back in Washington, D.C. and the White House, and Republicans will control the Senate and the House of Representatives. Things will be very different around here. “It's a necessary step to close the gap, and it's a moment that puts us in that position and allows us to put our fingerprints on final spending decisions in 2025,” he said.
package Prime Minister Johnson introduced the proposal just before the vote, which would fund the government at current levels until March 14, extend the Farm Bill for a year and earmark billions of dollars for disaster relief and support for farmers. Ta.
But the bill does not include language to raise the debt ceiling, an 11th-hour demand by President-elect Trump that threw a curveball into delicate government funding negotiations.
Two sources told The Hill that instead of raising the debt ceiling, Republicans would raise the borrowing limit by 1 in exchange for a net $2.5 trillion in spending cuts through a reconciliation proposal in the next Congress. It is said that they have signed an agreement to increase the amount by $5 trillion.
House passage of the government funding plan marks the culmination of three tumultuous days on Capitol Hill. Republicans repeatedly considered four different spending proposals, grappling with the influence of Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, and some lawmakers grew frustrated with Mr. Johnson's handling of the situation.
This comes during what is expected to be a period of turmoil in Washington, with Republicans poised to maintain a slim majority in the House of Representatives and Republican lawmakers preparing to enact legislation at the whims of the incoming Trump administration. It's just a preview.
Meanwhile, in the short term, doubts are growing over whether Mr Johnson will be able to hold on to the gavel in the House of Commons on January 3 to vote on his candidate. Johnson can be forgiven for losing several Republicans during the vote.
House Republicans unanimously nominated Mr. Johnson to be speaker in November, but dissatisfaction with Mr. Johnson has grown since then, especially given his leadership in the funding fight.
“Here we legislate in Braille,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who announced his decision not to support Mr. Johnson next month. “I don't think this was handled very well. And I still have all the grievances from the last one earlier this year, FISA, Ukraine, all those things. I think it will eventually be liquidated. Masu.”
The funding deal approved on Friday was the fourth proposal unveiled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson through the government funding debacle.
First, he launched a bipartisan, bicameral package negotiated by leading lawmakers that extended funding through March 14 and included a number of unrelated policy provisions. However, amid opposition from President Trump, the speaker never brought it to the floor.
Then came a proposal to fund the government through mid-March and suspend the debt ceiling for two years in an attempt to meet President Trump's fourth-quarter demands. But Democrats and Republican groups killed the bill, sending Johnson back to square one.
On Friday morning, lawmakers proposed splitting the funding package into three components and holding separate votes on continuing resolutions, disaster relief and farmer aid, which would be considered under procedural rules. But after a closed-door meeting, Johnson moved to select a single spending bill that includes disaster relief and farmer support for consideration under a fast-track process.
“We will not shut down the government,” Johnson said. “And we want to thank farmers in need, victims of disasters across the country, and our military, essential services, and all those who rely on the federal government for paychecks during the holidays. Fulfill your obligation to ensure that you are paid.”
And after a brief caucus, several House Democrats said they supported the bill.
The bulk of the emergency plan's funding will go toward disaster relief, with about $100 billion in relief coming amid growing bipartisan pressure in both the House and Senate in the wake of Hurricanes Helen and Milton.
The biggest item in the disaster relief portion includes about $29 billion in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund, which officials have warned has been declining in recent weeks. There is.
The Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster loan program has approximately $2 billion in funding, and businesses and homeowners rely on low-interest loans to recover from disasters. $50 million of this will be allocated to the SBA's Office of Inspector General for audits and reviews of disaster loans and disaster loan programs. Officials said the program ran out of money during hurricane season.
In addition to more than $20 billion for USDA disaster relief, lawmakers also agreed to spend an additional $10 billion in economic aid for farmers and about $8 million for oversight by the Office of Inspector General.
It also includes more than $12 billion in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Department of the Interior, which negotiators say will be critical to addressing the effects of disasters in 2024 and in recent years.
But many Democrats are criticizing the condensed version of the funding deal reached with Republican leaders earlier this week.
“They want to eliminate things like cancer treatment for children and Pharmacy Benefit Administrator reforms that lower drug prices for Americans. They want to eliminate community health centers.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), head of the Progressive Caucus, said of Republicans.
Some House Republicans have lamented the chipping away at previous add-ons that had received buy-in from both sides, particularly in health care, and have said that Trump allies like Musk have been forced to change the content of the policy. Some have accused them of spreading misinformation about the department. Previous funding package.
Additional items in the original bipartisan funding plan that came under fire and were later scrapped include a measure to transfer administrative jurisdiction over RFK Stadium to D.C. and language that would allow cost-of-living adjustments to members of Congress' salaries. It was. How many years has it been?
