Calling his strategy one that can “break the fever” that has led Congress to yearly rush by way of a bloated year-end funding invoice, newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson pushed a two-part, non permanent spending measure throughout the end line within the House on Tuesday.
It will beat a Friday shutdown deadline and hold the federal government funded till early subsequent yr.
The Republican-led House handed the invoice in a 336-95 vote over objections from hardline conservatives. It handed because of the help of greater than 200 Democrats, who have been glad it didn’t reduce spending and, just like the GOP, are wanting to keep away from a politically damaging authorities shutdown that looms on the finish of the week.
Senate Democrats have largely endorsed the House measure together with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, just about guaranteeing Congress will clear the invoice for President Biden’s signature later this week and extinguish the specter of a vacation authorities shutdown.
Mr. McConnell of Kentucky referred to as Mr. Johnson’s plan a “responsible measure that will keep the lights on and avoids a harmful lapse in federal spending.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, praised Mr. Johnson’s measure for avoiding “steep cuts” whereas funding the Defense Department till February.
The House invoice funds some federal businesses till Jan. 19 and others, together with army spending, by way of Feb. 2. The measure doesn’t embody emergency spending for wars in Ukraine or Israel, nor does it fund further border safety sought by many Republicans. It briefly extends vital authorities packages together with the National Flood Insurance Program and Community Health Centers.
House and Senate lawmakers now face a two-part deadline to work out find out how to fund the federal government for the rest of the yr amid deep partisan variations over spending and coverage.
“It buys us time to agree on a top-line funding level and negotiate final bills with the Senate,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kay Granger, Texas Republican, defined.
While hardline conservatives rejected the invoice, Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, defended the “laddered” spending measure as one which stops a “harmful” authorities shutdown whereas giving the GOP time to “have stringent fights on principle and philosophy” as it really works out funding the federal government for the rest of the yr.
That time will probably be spent looking for further border safety insurance policies, he stated, and offering ample oversight of the funding request Mr. Biden seeks for the struggle in Ukraine, which many within the GOP oppose, and to supply Israel cash to wage struggle in opposition to the terrorist group Hamas.
The funding measure misplaced the help of 93 Republicans, a lot of whom stated the brand new speaker caved to Democrats to keep away from a authorities shutdown. Less than one month in the past, eight hardline conservatives used an obscure House rule to throw out Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, after he, too, labored with Democrats to briefly prolong authorities funding.
“We promised the American people that we would stand up to this administration, cut spending, secure the border.,” Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, stated in opposition to the invoice. “We have delivered on none of that.”
Mr. Johnson identified Tuesday that he’s been speaker for simply three weeks and the House GOP majority on Tuesday was a razor-thin three votes.
“We’re not surrendering, we’re fighting,” Mr. Johnson stated. “But you have to be wise about choosing the fights. You’ve got to fight fights that you can win.”
As he concludes his first month as House Speaker, Mr. Johnson has saved the federal government’s lights on however faces the identical dilemma as his predecessor in looking for a pathway to full-year funding for the federal government.
The House has handed seven 2024 spending measures to this point however inner divisions have blocked progress on a few of the remaining 5 payments. Across the Capitol, Democrats who management the Senate are against the lowered spending ranges handed within the House measures as effectively coverage riders included in them.
In addition to the January and February spending deadlines within the House-passed spending invoice, Congress faces a 1% across-the-board reduce in all non-mandatory spending if the Senate and House don’t move all 12 authorities spending payments by the top of the yr.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut, who’s the highest Democrat on the appropriations committee, puzzled aloud on the House ground how the fractious GOP majority would offer a path ahead on spending.
“What is going to change in this next go-around?” Ms. DeLauro stated.
Mr. Johnson stated his two-step plan has already modified the mindset in Washington by interrupting the longtime sample of passing an enormous spending invoice simply earlier than yr’s finish, filled with practically each authorities spending measure and much too lengthy for lawmakers to learn earlier than voting on it. The huge “omnibus” packages are sometimes topped off with a whole lot of billions of {dollars} in last-minute spending and blamed partially for the nation’s staggering $33.6 trillion debt.
“We have broken the fever. We are not going to have a massive omnibus spending bill right for Christmas,” Mr. Johnson stated. “That is a gift to the American people. Because that is no way to legislate.”
