Washington – Leaders in Congress on Tuesday unveiled a lengthy stopgap measure to keep the government funded into the spring with just days left to prevent a government shutdown.
Congress has until Friday night to stop the funding lapse, according to lawmakers approved a continuing resolution in September to keep the government funded until December 20. The new stopgap measure, with the approval of the House, Senate and President Biden, will keep the government funded until March 14, giving lawmakers more time to reach agreement on new spending bills. The GOP controls both the House and Senate.
The 1,500-page stopgap measure also includes a one-year extension of the farm bill, nearly $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in economic aid to farmers.
The release of the continuing resolution comes down to the wire, putting pressure on House leaders to adhere to the 72-hour rule for members to review legislation before bringing it to the floor. Johnson said Tuesday morning that he is confident in following the rules, but with the weekend's deadline fast approaching, he may be running out of options.
The speaker also said House Republican leadership is committed to continuing passing the resolution through the regular process, including going through the House Rules Committee, where it is almost certain to face opposition from GOP hard-liners who could block passage. And can slow down.
Even before its release, lawmakers on the right wing of the party had begun to express opposition to the stopgap measure. Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who sits on the Rules Committee, told reporters after the House GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning that “this is not the process we signed up for,” adding that lawmakers should Must be able to amend and debate major legislation on the floor of the House.
“We get this crap talked to us and we're forced to eat this crap sandwich,” Roy said. “Why? Because the dreaded Christmas is around the corner. It's the same threat every year – legislate according to the crisis, legislate according to the calendar, don't legislate because it's the right thing to do.”
Leadership could instead choose to bring the legislation to the floor under a process known as suspension of the rules, which could depend on Democrats reaching the two-thirds majority needed for passage so the legislation can finally be tabled. Before it can be brought to the Senate more quickly. -Weekly deadline.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar acknowledged Tuesday morning that Republicans will need Democrats to approve government funding, saying that dynamic “has been the case in this Congress,” and “will continue to be the case in the next Congress.” “
“This is a lesson for Speaker Johnson,” Aguilar said. “Let's find solutions, let's silence the most extreme voices in your conference, and let's find the consensus that will be needed to fund the government.”
Johnson has previously expressed distaste for large year-end funding measures, known as omnibuses, and has promised to avoid the practice of pushing spending ahead of the holiday recess. He defended the proposal released Tuesday, saying “it's not omnibus” and arguing it would put the party in a position to “put our fingerprints on the final spending bills” in the new year. And he noted that House Republicans aim to resolve the government funding battle early in the year, before the March 14 deadline.
Even with this week's limited deadlines for lawmakers expected to fend off the threat of a shutdown, there is little appetite in Washington for funding cuts.
Senator Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate, said before the legislation was released Tuesday afternoon that negotiators should have completed their work earlier but that it was delayed because of “the Speaker's eleventh-hour demand.”
“We're headed into the holidays and what the country really needs is a bipartisan package that will prevent unnecessary shutdowns, keep our government open and provide much-needed aid to areas across the country recovering from the disaster,” Murray said. Are.”
The Speaker said MPs are “working around the clock to complete the CR,” noting that it is intended to be “a very simple, very clean” stopgap funding measure to bring the party into the new year. But the Louisiana Republican said “some interfering things” happened, citing the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton earlier this year. Johnson said the stopgap measure includes disaster relief that is “extremely important” and provides support to farmers.
“These other pieces have been added to what would have been a very thin, very simple clean CR,” Johnson said.