Although Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he expects to pass a short-term continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, House Republicans are split on how they feel about passing the stopgap measure, setting the stage for another internal fight when lawmakers return from the August recess.
Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass its annual budget before the new fiscal year begins. The House managed to pass one of the 12 appropriations bills before leaving town for recess, while the Senate has yet to advance any, putting the two chambers on a tight timeline, with only a handful of days in which both chambers are in session.
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McCarthy first floated the idea of passing a continuing resolution during a closed meeting with the GOP conference on Monday, telling lawmakers a “short-term” agreement would need to be made to get everything sorted in time. However, the Republican leader remained adamant he would not approve a resolution punting the must-pass legislation to the end of the year.
“In any event, I do expect a short-term CR will be needed to finish all the work that we set out to do,” McCarthy said on the call. “I do not want to do a CR that jams it up against Christmas or the holiday. Not going to do that. Not going to play that game. We're going to pass this on the merits of what’s in these bills and what the policy is. It's just a better way to govern and a better way for all of us to achieve what America wants us to be able to achieve.”
McCarthy noted he spoke with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) about the possibility in July, before Congress adjourned for its annual recess, with the Senate Democrat later telling reporters he is “supportive” of such a move.
Some members of the House Republican Conference are supportive as well, noting it's crucial when the alternative is a government shutdown.
“Neither a shutdown nor a CR address the root causes of reckless spending. The best way to reduce spending is by passing 12 new appropriations bills,” said Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), a member of the Elected Leadership Committee and co-chairwoman of the Republican Main Street Caucus. “However, we need more time to negotiate packages that both our conference and the Senate can support. A shutdown would politicize this process and should not be an option under consideration.”
Other Republicans who back the move include House Freedom Caucus member Morgan Griffith (R-VA). After presiding over a pro-forma House session on Tuesday, Griffith told reporters he would support a continuing resolution but only if it was truly short-term.
“If we need a few weeks, I can probably live with that,” Griffith said. “I think we should do two weeks, and if we need to do another week after that, fine.”
Another conservative lawmaker expressed support for a stopgap bill, noting it could allow the House to “complete the appropriations process and address our spending crisis in a meaningful way.”
The budget process has already been complicated by members of the Freedom Caucus threatening to withhold their support for spending bills altogether if their demands aren’t met. The caucus, which has outsize power given McCarthy's slim majority, has not established a position on any of the spending legislation, but the group is expected to release a statement on the matter in the coming days, according to its policy chairman, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
“Anybody that is of the belief that moving forward with a three-month continuing resolution or a two-month solution that would fund the government at last year's bloated level … if you think it is a good idea to do that for even a scintilla of a second, you're insane,” Roy told KSEV Radio on Wednesday. “It is a nonstarter. I will use every tool I have at my disposal to stop a continuing resolution structured that way and frankly, to fight any effort to continue to fund this government without radical reform for border security at the Department of Justice, at the Department of Defense, at a minimum.”
It’s not yet clear when the Freedom Caucus will release its official stance on the appropriations process or what the group’s demands may be to keep the government funded.
But some individual members of the Freedom Caucus have expressed their opposition to a continuing resolution unless certain stipulations are met.
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) said he would only support one if Republicans got crucial policy wins out of it. For example, he said he wants to see the House GOP energy bill, HR 1, and their border security bill, HR 2, passed out of the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
“Generally, I'm against it, unless it was for a defined purpose,” Good said. “ In other words, let's just say you had a 30- or 60-day CR that combined HR 1, our energy bill, and HR 2, our border bill. Because frankly, we ought not to continue to fund this government that is facilitating the border invasion yet.”
Other rank-and-file Republicans have also expressed opposition to a continuing resolution, denouncing any proposal that would delay budget decisions until later this year.
“America demands a secure border. I am a NO on any Continuing Resolution that only kicks the can down the road,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX). “Lock Congress in a room until we pass a conservative budget void of excess financial waste.”
A continuing resolution could also face pushback from Republicans who are fighting over other fiscal priorities, particularly those who oppose a request by Biden for further military aid to Ukraine.
Biden unveiled his highly anticipated request to Congress, seeking an additional $24 billion related to Russia's invasion of the war-torn country. The request seeks $13 billion in security assistance for Ukraine and another $7.3 billion for economic and humanitarian efforts, setting the stage for a battle with House Republicans who are wary of the assistance.
Several Republican lawmakers have already expressed opposition to the proposal, noting it’s an “absolute nonstarter” for many conservatives.
“People are completely against spending more money to Ukraine with all of our existing problems here at home,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner last week. “And so my role will be being a very loud voice, urging my colleagues in Congress to vote 'no' and making sure that everyone knows which Republicans want to send their hard-earned tax dollars over to Ukraine, which Democrats want.”
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Such a proposal would need to be rescinded before coming to an agreement on government spending, lawmakers say.
It’s unclear whether lawmakers will come to an agreement ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, after which a government shutdown will take place until a budget is approved. After meeting virtually earlier this week, House Republicans are expected to meet at least once more before reconvening in Washington, D.C., after Labor Day.
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GOP split over looming spending deadline, setting stage for possible shutdown - Washington Examiner
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