House to Vote on 6-Month Government Funding Bill

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Even if the continuing resolution passes, it must get 60 votes in the Senate to clear the filibuster.

WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on March 11  on whether to approve a bill that would fund the U.S. government for the remainder of the current fiscal year and avoid a shutdown.

Currently, funding for the government is set to expire on March 14. The bill, known as a continuing resolution, would extend funding at the previous fiscal year’s levels, until the last day of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Congress has used continuing resolutions every year to avoid a government shutdown, as it is unable to pass permanent funding, or appropriations, bills for the fiscal year before it begins. However, such appropriations bills are usually passed by March.

Continuing resolutions typically do not authorize new spending, and merely maintain current spending levels. However, the 99-page bill introduced by the House Republican Conference’s leadership includes some new spending on defense, veterans’ healthcare, air traffic control, and the Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children program that gives nutritional assistance to those groups.

The Department of Defense would receive $892.5 billion in spending, which is a $6.5 billion increase over the previous fiscal year, which would fund a pay increase for junior enlisted personnel in the U.S. military, among other initiatives.

Additionally, the measure would enable Medicaid to continue paying certain hospitals for their treatment of uninsured patients, by extending until 2028 the end of a program to do so.

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Simultaneously, the bill would cut non-defense spending by about eight percent from fiscal year 2024, to approximately $708 billion, House Republican leadership staff told reporters.

Overall, the legislation would be about a $7 billion reduction from current government funding, according to House GOP leadership aides.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has implored all Republicans to vote for the measure.

“[Democrats] love to remind the American people of the perils of a government shutdown. BUT, they’re opposing a clean CR that would keep the government open,” he posted on X.

President Donald Trump has backed the House GOP bill, which he called for in the first place.

“All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week,” he posted on Truth Social. “I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the country’s ‘financial house’ in order.”

To pass the House, the CR needs the support of all but one Republican.  The House Democratic caucus has announced its opposition to a continuing resolution, given the cuts to non-defense discretionary spending.

There is already one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who is opposed to the bill.

Massie wrote in a post on X on March 4 that he would vote against it. He claimed that the proposal would renege on a previous agreement regarding fiscal year 2025, embodied in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, that would entail spending cuts and the sequestration of funds if any continuing resolution is active past April 2025.

Massie also said that the bill would “fund the [alleged] waste, fraud, and abuse” highlighted by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. Instead, he wants Congress to individually pass the 12 appropriations bills.

It is unclear whether House Republican leaders have the votes to pass the measure.

If the House passes the continuing resolution, it would also have to be passed by the Senate, where such legislation must receive the support of at least 60 senators to receive cloture and advance to a final vote.

Unlike Massie, some fiscal conservatives have announced their support of the bill.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote on X that he will vote for the legislation.

Massie is not the only Republican to have criticized the measure. Other GOP criticism of the bill has emerged from different quarters of the party, on the grounds that it prevents increases in military spending.

“Forcing the U.S. military to equip itself for next year’s threats at this year’s prices with last year’s dollars is a recipe for disaster,” wrote Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in an article in The Washington Post last week.

Democrats have said they are opposed to a continuing resolution as it would enable the Trump administration to request reconciliations to spending, which the Senate’s rules permit it to pass with just a simple majority. As part of negotiations, Republicans are opposed to any limit on this capability, indicating that it may be used.

“A one-year CR is a nonstarter,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told reporters recently.

Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) remarked on the Senate floor last week that Congress should pass a short-term continuing resolution but also continue its appropriations work for this fiscal year.

“[We should be] ready to pass a short-term CR immediately to take down the risk of a shutdown so that we can finish our negotiations and write full-year spending bills,” Murray said.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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