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.
What the Left Is Saying
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.
DeLauro noted the legislation prevents the Department of Homeland Security from transferring funds to the Border Patrol and 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. Democrats fear the administration will use the regulation on grants to steer money away from Democratic-led states.
Whether a community receives disaster relief should not depend on who they voted for in the last election, DeLauro said. She called the delay an important first step but said more must be done to block the policy from taking effect.
What the Right Is Saying
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters ahead of the vote that Republicans were determined not to bump up against a shutdown deadline during campaign season following this past year's historic shutdowns. We're going to avoid the threat of another Democratic shutdown, Johnson said.
Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, highlighted what he called the bipartisan nature of the deal. It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid, Cole said.
What the Numbers Show
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 Trump's desk for his signature.
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.
The short-term measure funds federal agencies generally at current levels through December 11.
The Bottom Line
Lawmakers will now have more time to find compromise on a full-year measure, though that process 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.
The December 11 deadline sets up another potential showdown during the holiday season, just weeks before the new Congress convenes.