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House Passes Short-Term Funding Bill 09/02 06:23
The House passed a short-term measure Tuesday to fund the federal government
into early December, a move designed to avoid a chaotic shutdown as lawmakers
campaign for reelection.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House passed a short-term measure Tuesday to fund the
federal government into early December, a move designed to avoid a chaotic
shutdown as lawmakers campaign for reelection.
Lawmakers needed to act before the fiscal year concludes at the end of
September to avoid a funding lapse. They were determined not to bump up against
that deadline during the campaign season following this past year's historic
shutdowns.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 370-48. The Senate has already
overwhelmingly approved the measure, so it now moves to President Donald
Trump's desk for his signature.
"It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the
government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid,"
said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee.
A record 43-day shutdown occurred last fall when the two parties disagreed
on renewing an expiring tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage
obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Then came the shutdown of
the Department of Homeland Security, which lasted 76 days before lawmakers
agreed to fund much of the department but not its immigration enforcement
operations.
Lawmakers were wary of a repeat before voters go to the polls. They also
blamed the other party for the recent impasses.
"We're going to avoid the threat of another Democratic shutdown," House
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in advance of the vote.
After the vote Johnson said the House delivered, despite those who doubted
the Republican majority would be able to push past its own divisions and rally
support.
"We're continuing to do the grown-up thing, get the job done," he said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee,
encouraged her Democratic colleagues to vote for the measure during a
closed-door meeting Tuesday morning.
She said the bill was much improved from the product that passed the House
earlier this summer on a mostly party-line basis. For example, she said it
prevents the Department of Homeland Security from transferring funds to the
Border Patrol, and it delays a proposed rule that would give political
appointees in the Trump administration more authority to stop federal grants
from going out for programs they view as not in line with the president's
agenda. Those changes were made when the Senate approved its version of the
bill.
Democrats fear the administration will use the proposed regulation on grants
to steer money away from Democratic-led states. DeLauro called the delay an
important first step, but said more must be done to block the policy from
taking effect.
"Whether a community receives disaster relief should not depend on who they
voted for in the last election," DeLauro said.
The short-term measure funds federal agencies generally at current levels
through Dec. 11. It will give lawmakers more time to find compromise on a
full-year measure, though that will likely be quite difficult.
Republicans are seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in additional
spending for the military while cutting most non-defense programs. Democrats
say that's a non-starter and insist on a bipartisan approach that treats
domestic programs with parity.
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