Congress passed a shutdown government funding bill on Thursday, with the Senate and House both passing bipartisan legislation to avert a looming weekend shutdown.
The House voted further appropriations by a count of 314-108, allowing funding at current levels to continue until March 1 for the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Food and Drug Administration and military construction.
The 13-page bill also authorizes funding through March 8 for the Pentagon and all other federal agencies.
More than 100 House Republicans and two House Democrats — Mike Quigley of Illinois and Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts — oppose the legislation, known as a continuing resolution, but there are still more than enough “yes” votes to clear the two-thirds required in the lower house. . the majority.
A snowstorm is forecast to hit Washington, DC, on Friday adding urgency to the looming spending deadline, but that didn’t stop many members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus from voting “no.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the caucus, blasted the bill’s negotiators on the House floor before the vote for dealing with “side business” on the provision — and whined that lawmakers were more worried about leaving town before the blizzard than dealing with national debt of $34 trillion.
The Freedom Caucus also blasted the “Johnson-Schumer CR” in a position statement before the vote for not upholding the Republican commitment to “protect the border.”
The Senate passed a government funding bill that stalled on Thursday evening, setting up an expected vote in the House today to avoid a looming weekend shutdown. Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
“We had 14 Democrats join all Republicans in voting yesterday to denounce and end Biden’s open borders policy,” add Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who chairs the caucus, referred to the resolution passed Wednesday in the House.
“Now, the time has come to require border security to fund this government. Close the border or close the government!” he threatened.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) huddled with Good, Roy and other caucus members on the floor before the vote, apparently showing his willingness to hear from each faction of his conference as he administered a narrow 220-213 majority.
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The Senate earlier voted 77-18 to approve continuing spending, with eighteen Republicans opposed and five abstaining, including Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), 90, whose office announced Thursday afternoon that he had just been released from the hospital. after treatment for infection.
“We have good news for America. There will be no shutdown on Friday,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a floor speech. “Because both parties have cooperated, the government will remain open, services will not be interrupted, we will avoid unnecessary disasters.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash), who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said a shutdown “shouldn’t be an option that’s acceptable to anyone,” noting the added “opportunity cost” for agencies that have to prepare for that possibility.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who opposed the bill, introduced a last-minute motion to return it to the Appropriations Committee and instead provide a full-year government funding measure through the end of the fiscal year, but it was voted down 82-13.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), another “no” vote, also failed to pass an amendment to legislation banning US funding to the West Bank and Gaza by a vote of 44-50.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) supported the bill — but 18 other Republicans voted against it. Reuters
President Biden needs to sign the legislation before the government lights go dark on Friday at 11:59 p.m
Johnson – who acknowledged on Wednesday that the funding won’t give his caucus “everything we want” – introduced a “tiered” approach to the spending plan before the winter recess, which was adopted again to extend the funding deadline.
The speaker has expressed intent to return the lower house to normal order and pass 12 separate appropriations bills for federal agencies and operations — a feat not seen since 1996.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) introduced a “staggered” approach to the spending plan before the winter recess, which was adopted again to extend the funding deadline. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
His approval would allow Johnson to renegotiate the top $1.66 trillion deal with Schumer to fund the government for fiscal year 2024, with $888 billion in defense spending and $773 billion in discretionary spending.
At least $69 billion was included as part of a side deal negotiated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with Biden in the 2023 bill to raise the national debt ceiling, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Schumer called out hard-line House Republicans last week for trying to “bully” the speaker and their colleagues into shutting down the government.
President Biden has to sign the legislation before the government lights go dark on Friday at midnight. AP
The government has been funded for continuing resolution since Oct. 1, when McCarthy passed a preliminary bill to avoid the shutdown that ultimately led to his ouster by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and seven other GOP lawmakers.
In November, Johnson passed two separate continuing resolutions to extend the funding deadlines to January 19 and February 2. All funding bills maintain federal spending at fiscal year 2023 levels.
“Now, the time has come to require border security to fund this government. Close the border or close the government!” said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who chairs the House Freedom Caucus. AP
Senate Republicans and Democrats continue to hash out a separate $106 billion national security supplemental deal to send military aid to Ukraine and Israel and to reform US border laws.
Johnson met with Biden at the White House on Wednesday to express skepticism about the proposed border deal, making him the only dissenting voice in the congressional leadership next to Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ( D-NY).
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
