Yup, another kick-the-can continuing resolution spending bill has passed the House. This extension lasts until March 1st and 8th.
The short-term CR negotiated in part by House Speaker Mike Johnson, passed the House on a 314-108 vote margin. 207 Democrats and 107 Republicans voted for it. Yes, that’s correct; more democrats supported the CR than republicans, and this is with a republican house majority.
It’s a Democrat CR bill being brought up by a Republican House Speaker and passed by the UniParty. Almost half of the Republicans voted against it (106), while just 2 Democrats voted no. The DC UniParty in its full glory.
“Our Speaker, Mr. Johnson, said he was the most conservative speaker we’ve ever had, and yet here we are, putting this bill on the floor,” said. Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona in a floor speech ahead of the vote, adding that the situation is what “led to us to vacate Speaker McCarthy in the first place.”
WASHINGTON DC – On a 314-108 House vote, Congress just bought six more weeks to continue the fiscal 2024 funding fight. But even the new March government shutdown deadlines are going to be a challenge to meet.
STEP 1: ANOTHER NUMBERS DEAL — Top Hill leaders might have agreed on overall spending levels nearly two weeks ago, but appropriators can’t get to work writing legislation until the two appropriations chairs — Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) — work out their own deal on how to divvy up the topline number among the 12 individual bills, setting what’s known among wonks as the 302(b)s.
It’s been slow going, and other top appropriators are growing impatient. “I have no insights as to why it’s taking so long,” said Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine). “I’m very concerned.” As to whether there’s enough time for Congress to meet the split March 1/March 8 deadlines: “I think there is if we get the allocations promptly next week,” Collins said.
People familiar with the process have stressed that negotiating subcommittee allocations typically takes a while. Speaking before the Senate passed the latest stopgap earlier this afternoon, Murray said she’s “working nonstop” with her House counterparts to keep things “moving as quickly as we possibly can.”
STEP 2: ENTER THE SUBCOMMITTEES — Once the 302(b)s are set, the 12 appropriations subcommittee chairs and ranking members will start trading offers on how to distribute their allocations among each department, agency and program in their jurisdiction, while also haggling over potential policy stipulations.
For several of the bills, that’s going to be a challenge, considering the vast differences between the measures that the House and Senate each pumped out last year.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the State-Foreign Operations panel, told us that he and GOP counterpart Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) have a lot of daylight to close in negotiations with their peers across the Capitol. “Lindsey and I work well together,” he said. “But the gap between our bill in the Senate and the House is pretty significant. So once we have allocations, there’s still a lot of work to do.”
STEP 3: RIDER TIME — House conservatives, who’ve failed for months to secure steep spending cuts, say they’re hellbent on securing major policy wins, such as anti-abortion provisions and immigration restrictions that are dead on arrival for the Democratic-controlled Senate. They have backing from Johnson, who just last Sunday said the new funding patch will buy time to fight for “meaningful policy wins” while cajoling Republicans to support the latest stopgap.
As our Alice Miranda Ollstein and Meredith Lee Hill report today, House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said many in the House Republican conference will be “disappointed and upset” if the speaker doesn’t win on anti-abortion language, arguing that House Republicans “should get at least half of what we want.”
STEP 4: PASS IT OR BUST — If lawmakers fail to pass full-year appropriations bills over the next six weeks, senior appropriators are warning that will mean yet another continuing resolution — this time, through the rest of the fiscal year. They are counting on the threat of flat budgets and potentially devastating cuts to avert that outcome.
A continuing resolution through Sept. 30, for instance, would cut non-defense budgets by a total of $73 billion from current levels. Separately, lawmakers are facing another potential “sequester” scenario, thanks to a provision baked into the debt limit package passed last year. If the government is operating under any short-term CR come April 30, there will be a $10 billion cut to the military’s budget and a $41 billion cut to domestic programs. (MORE)
Madness…..
Complete and utter dysfunction.
First the committee heads need a deadline. If they don’t meet the deadline, they are replaced and their staff are replaced.
Maybe an amendment to the Constitution is needed to force them to do their jobs or be forced to get out of the business of governing.
And I don’t buy any of their statements. It is all just a script.
No a bad deal is worse than no deal. If they don’t pass a viable appropriations bill by the deadline there should be an automatic continuation at the old numbers MINUS 20%. If no deal after that, lop off another 20%. And make it a mandatory requirement that every budget proposal submitted by each department and agency include a prioritized ranking of each line item. Make sure when they take a cut they actually cut the least important items first instead of staging a theatrical production out of shutting National Parks and monuments despite them being already funded.
We can’t afford the govt that we have….and at the same time we can’t afford to stop the excessive spending since so many are dependent on that spending. It’s a black hole that will only get deeper and deeper.
So after decades of the Republican leadership bald faced lying to you, you are shocked they lied again?
Vacate the chair, so we can finally get a government shutdown. The more chaos in the house means they can’t focus on blowing our money and continue being fiscally irresponsible.
Johnson is as useless as a screen door on a submarine. In fact most of the rino Republicans are, too. No SOH is better than what we got!
Teets on a boar hog.
This reminds me of “read my lips, no new taxes”, from a previous uniparty swamp dweller, who got us into a 20 year war.
They are stalling until the bankruptcy of the United States if fully exposed. If anyone wants to know when Martial Law comes, and who will be rounded up by it, well, it won’t be anyone in the Deep State, the Democratic Party, or any Republixans who really are Democrats.
The BRICS know…
What was Stefanik’s vote ?
Johnson just punched his ticket to the exit from the chair. MTG is on his 6. And if the speaker exits, boy is March gonna be lit!
Either way tho’ its going to be a free for all.
Gee, here I am AGAIN, loathing another republican.
I hope that Speaker Mike Johnson has been not compromised and captured by the deep state, another Epstein type of deal. The Speaker is said to be a strong Christian, I hope that he is and have no reason to believe otherwise. I hope he is a really a member of the flock and not a RINO in sheep’s clothing.
The last CR got the deficit up from $32T all the way to $34 Trillion in just a few months. This one will probably get it to $36T
Yes TRILLIONS are at stake, our trillions and our children’s children’s children’s.
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