House to vote on short-term funding bill in last effort to avoid shutdown.
House Republicans are set to vote on a 45-day extension of federal spending that includes no spending cuts and adds funding for disaster relief in an attempt to avert a government shutdown at midnight on Saturday.
A GOP-sponsored 30-day continuing resolution (CR) that included spending cuts and border security enhancements failed yesterday as 21 Republicans voted with Democrats to defeat the measure.
Now, eager to avoid being blamed for a government shutdown, mainstream House Republicans appear to be rallying behind a CR that includes neither of those provisions, hoping that enough of the holdouts–or some Democrats–will join the effort.
Divided Conference
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called the Republican conference together yesterday at 4:00 p.m. to look for a pathway to avoiding a shutdown.
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Several members told The Epoch Times that various solutions were bandied about but no consensus seemed to emerge. The mood was dramatically different from a GOP conference meeting earlier in the week, where lawmakers insisted they were closing in on a resolution of their differences.
Many of the 21 who voted no on the GOP-sponsored CR either did not attend yesterday’s meeting or left early, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) who has emerged as a spokesperson for the opposition group. Some, including Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), were visibly upset upon leaving the meeting, according to reporters at the Capitol.
Other lawmakers complained that it was difficult to make progress on finding a solution when those in opposition were not present.
GOP members met again on Saturday morning and landed on the idea of a 45-day “clean” CR, which would avoid a shutdown and allow additional time for the House to pass the remaining eight of 12 required appropriations bills.
The Senate has so far passed no appropriations bills but is at work on its own version of a CR, which would extend current spending levels through Nov. 14 and include an additional $6.15 billion in funding for the war effort in Ukraine and $5.99 billion for domestic disaster relief.
Many House Republicans are skeptical of sending additional aid to Ukraine without increased accountability and oversight, and some members are completely opposed to doing so.
Seeking Regular Order
Essentially, the holdout Republicans insist that “regular order” be followed in passing appropriations bills, which means allowing individual votes on each of the 12 bills with an opportunity to debate them and offer amendments from the floor.
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) summarized their position of in remarks to reporters on Saturday morning.
“It was clear to me last night that the speaker will do anything to avoid the discomfort of a shutdown. I fear the majority [of] the conference will join him [in] doing that,” Mr. Good said.
“I will acknowledge that we, as a Republican House, should have done what the speaker committed we would do, which was to pass our appropriations bills long before September 30, and that was a failure,” Mr. Good said.
“Number two, we were making progress with passing our spending bills . . . We had momentum with those bills. We passed three out of four the other night,” Mr. Good added.
The House has passed four of the 12 required appropriations bills, which amount to about 70 percent of federal discretionary spending. The Senate has not passed any of the 12.
“What we should be doing is staying with the same intensity forced by the calendar and the pressure of a shutdown to pass our remaining eight bills and send those to the Senate, and then go into conference and negotiate,” he added.
Many of the GOP holdouts believe any CR will inevitably lead to additional delays in creating a full-year spending plan, which will result in the necessity of a last-minute catchall bill that would fund the entire discretionary budget in a single up-or-down vote—with no time to full debate or offer amendments.
Keep Open, Keep Working
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who chairs the House Rules Committee, said that at this point the clean CR is the best way to allow Congress to keep doing its work.
“Nothing is going to get done in a government shutdown except getting out of a government shutdown,” Mr. Cole told reporters. “Let’s keep the government open … let’s keep doing our work.”
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who chairs the GOP’s Main Street Caucus, sees the latest effort to pass a CR as a pathway to securing an overall win for Republicans.
“I think Kevin McCarthy has been clear that he wants to secure conservative wins. The best way to do that is to]make sure that we are passing our appropriations bills while government is open,” Mr. Johnson told reporters on Saturday morning.
He added that he expects Democrats will support the measure to avoid a shutdown.
What challenges are House Republicans facing in their attempt to pass a “clean” 45-day CR to avoid a government shutdown?
Said. “But I also want to make sure we’re not just passing clean CRs for the remainder of the year without any oversight or accountability.”
Despite the challenges, House Republicans are now hoping that the “clean” 45-day CR will gather enough support to pass and avert a government shutdown. However, it remains to be seen whether enough holdouts will join the effort or if Democrats will provide the needed votes.
The issue of funding for disaster relief and border security enhancements continues to be a sticking point for many Republicans. Some argue that additional aid to Ukraine should only be provided with increased accountability and oversight, while others are completely opposed to the idea. There is also a push for “regular order” in passing appropriations bills, which would allow for individual votes and amendments on each bill.
The clock is ticking, and the House Republicans must find a solution before midnight on Saturday to avoid a government shutdown. The outcome of the vote and the subsequent actions of the Senate will determine whether the government remains funded and operational or if the shutdown becomes a reality.
Conclusion
House Republicans are facing a crucial vote on a 45-day extension of federal spending in an attempt to avert a government shutdown. The previous GOP-sponsored CR that included spending cuts and border security enhancements failed, leading to intense negotiations and divisions within the Republican conference. Now, Republicans are rallying behind a “clean” CR that includes no spending cuts but adds funding for disaster relief. The hope is that enough holdouts or Democrats will join the effort to pass the CR and avoid a shutdown. However, challenges remain regarding accountability, oversight, and the inclusion of additional aid to Ukraine. The outcome of the vote and the subsequent actions of the Senate will decide the fate of federal spending and whether a government shutdown will occur.
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