WASHINGTON — Congress overwhelmingly approved a stopgap spending bill Wednesday that will keep the federal government operating until Dec. 20, though a divided Congress still has much to negotiate if members want to pass a dozen full-year spending bills before the novel deadline.
The short-term funding bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution, will avoid a partial government shutdown when the novel fiscal year begins on October 1.
The CR is intended to give lawmakers more time to work out agreements on appropriations bills. But Congress regularly uses it as a safety net to delay or avoid decisions about which departments should get more funding and whether to change policies on how federal tax dollars are spent.
The debate over CR was largely bipartisan, with Democrats and Republicans expressing support ahead of the 341-82 House vote vote and the Senate vote was 78-18.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law before the October 1 shutdown deadline.
“Many problems” ahead
The stopgap bill was the last major piece of legislation Congress considered before Election Day. The lame duck session is scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
“In just a few days, funding for fiscal year 2024 will run out, and Congress is responsible for ensuring that our government remains open and serving the American people,” House Speaker Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, said during a floor debate. “We are here to prevent harmful disruptions to our national security and the important programs our constituents rely on.”
Cole said he hopes Congress will approve more than a dozen year-round bills this year.
“The next president and the next Congress should not be forced to do the work of this administration and this Congress,” Cole said. “They’re going to have a lot of problems … let’s not throw a potential government shutdown in their lap.”
Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers need to begin conference calls in the coming days to reach a bipartisan agreement on a year-long spending bill.
“Regardless of who wins in November, we owe it to the next Congress and the next president not to burden them with yesterday’s problems,” DeLauro said.
Draft bill on voting by foreigners rejected
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy spoke out against the stopgap spending bill and expressed frustration that lawmakers were once again relying on a continuing resolution instead of meeting an Oct. 1 deadline to pass full-year spending bills.
“We shouldn’t put off the decision until December 20, just five days before Christmas, which is what this city always does,” he said.
Roy also criticized House Republican leaders for failing to stick to a six-month-old stopgap spending bill that included a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.
House Leaders I presented this bill last weekbut it didn’t win the votes needed to send it to the Senate. It’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
Secret Service Expenses
This 49-page continuous resolution expands the funding levels and policies approved by Congress earlier this year under the last appropriations process.
Lawmakers included a provision that would allow the Secret Service to spend money at a faster rate than otherwise allowed “for protective operations, including activities related to events of particular national security significance and the 2024 presidential campaign,” according to abstract draft bill.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency received a similar order that allows it to spend more money that would otherwise be allowed from its disaster relief fund. Forest Service Wildland Fires
The management account has also been given a faster expense rate.
The interim budget bill extended the authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, as well as several other federal programs that were set to expire at the end of September.
November elections
Whether Congress reaches an agreement with the Biden administration on a dozen bills to fund the government full-time later this year will likely depend on the outcome of the November election.
Voters who favor divided government for the next two years will likely encourage leaders to forge a bipartisan, bicameral agreement during the five-week congressional session in November and December.
If Republicans or Democrats secure joint control of the House, Senate and White House, it could lead to passage of another stopgap spending bill, postponing decisions until the next Congress and president are sworn in in January.
New president, novel budget
Regardless of when Congress finishes working on a dozen budget bills for the year, the next president will likely present lawmakers with his first budget proposal next spring, starting the annual process all over again.
The president is expected to announce his budget request in early February, but this is often delayed in the first year of a novel administration.
The House and Senate appropriations committees will then begin hearings with Cabinet secretaries and agency heads to ask about their individual requests and begin assessing whether lawmakers will raise spending.
The appropriations committees in each chamber are likely to publish separate draft budget bills for the full year next summer, which will likely be followed by a debate in plenary.
This year, the House Appropriations Committee sent all dozens of its bills to a vote, on party-line votes in which Democrats objected both to the spending level and the policy language.
Republicans in the House of Representatives approved five of the bills.
Appropriators held broadly bipartisan votes to approve 11 of their bills in committee, with the exception of the homeland security bill. None of the bills made it to the floor for amendment debate and a final vote.
That is not unusual in the Senate, where deliberations are often spent approving judicial nominations and approval of a single spending bill can take weeks.
The House of Representatives, on the other hand, can approve bills in a matter of hours or days if the leadership secures enough votes.
