Sen. Cardin urges immediate defense supplemental amid spending dispute.
Sen. Ben Cardin Suggests Defense Supplemental Spending Package Needed in September
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) indicated on Tuesday that the Senate will likely pass a defense supplemental spending package when Congress reconvenes next month after the August recess.
Cardin made these remarks while speaking to reporters outside the Senate floor following a pro forma session, where a member quickly opens and closes the chamber. As Congress returns in September, it faces the looming threat of a government shutdown and a broader dispute over defense spending levels.
Government Shutdown Looms as Time Runs Out
The federal government’s funding expires on September 30, and with only 12 in-session days remaining for both the House and Senate, finding a resolution to prevent a shutdown becomes increasingly urgent. Adding to the complexity, House and Senate appropriators have been working on government funding bills with different spending levels for months.
On the Senate side, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-ME) have been advancing the 12 annual appropriations bills based on spending levels agreed upon in May as part of President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) deal to avoid a debt default.
Senators Demand Supplemental Defense Spending Bill
Senators from across the ideological spectrum expressed frustration with the defense caps in the deal, which would hinder the Pentagon’s ability to allocate adequate resources in line with inflation. In response to potential opposition from defense hawks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pledged to bring a supplemental defense spending bill up for a vote later in the year.
“We recognize that we’re not happy with [that deal], we recognize that. But now it’s complicated because we really need some emergency appropriations,” Cardin stated, referring to the initial debt ceiling deal. “We know that as a result of Ukraine, we know that as a result of what happened with the fires in Hawaii, in Maui, there’s going to be some emergency spending that’s going to be a necessary part of this.”
House Speaker McCarthy’s slim majority in the House leaves little room for defections within his conference. Over 20 members are already demanding that appropriators draft their 12 bills based on fiscal 2022 spending levels, which are lower than the numbers in the debt limit deal. McCarthy has also rejected the idea of passing a defense supplemental in the House.
Short-Term Continuing Resolution Likely
During a call with members last week, the House speaker stated that he anticipates the need for a short-term continuing resolution to provide enough time for both chambers to pass and negotiate their 12 appropriations bills. Schumer also expressed support for this idea.
“A supplemental can be attached to whatever we can get done, or it could be the engine for what moves, and maybe a couple of things get added to a supplemental,” Cardin explained when asked about attaching the supplemental to the short-term continuing resolution.
“The supplemental sort of drives itself, the timing, the need for it,” he added. “So it’s not waiting for another vehicle to attach it to, it’s more: when do we need the supplemental? I think we’re going to need a supplemental in September.”
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