(Headline USA) Congress on Wednesday passed a temporary measure that keeps government agencies funded into December, avoiding a shutdown for now while punting final spending decisions until after the Nov. 5 election.
The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 78-18 shortly after the House approved it without the SAVE Act, which would have helped to shore up election integrity ahead of the November election.
It marks another awkward defeat for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who was hoisted into power amid Republican infighting over a similar capitulation by his predecessor, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
As a result, the Republicans may find themselves in a tougher spot overall for trying to retain their narrow margin in the House, not only coming off the heels of a deflating political defeat, but one that will let Democrats retain illegal immigrants on their voting rolls with little recourse.
“This bipartisanship is a good outcome for America,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., moments before the vote. “I hope it sets the tone for more constructive, bipartisan work when we return in the fall.”
A previous attempt to pass the bill with the SAVE Act failed to pass the house, with Democrats unilaterally voting against election integrity and more than a dozen do-nothing Republicans joining them in an act of bipartisan self-defeatism.
Some feared the potential for a government shutdown would come back to haunt them, while others simply opposed a continuing resolution on principle.
Johnson billed the measure as doing “only what’s absolutely necessary,” a statement directed at members of his own conference concerned about spending levels.
Still, it was a no-go for some Republicans, which forced House GOP leadership to rely on Democratic votes to pass the bill through a process that requires at least two-thirds support from voting members.
The final vote was 341-82, with Republicans supplying all the no votes in both chambers. Johnson said the only alternative to the continuing resolution at this stage would have been a shutdown.
“It would be political malpractice to shut the government down,” Johnson said. “I think everyone understands that.”
The House floor was largely empty during debate on the measure. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, was the lone critic among the speakers, saying, “We end up in a vicious circle every year, the same vicious circle.”
The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Lawmakers in both chambers are anxious to return to their home states and districts to campaign, smoothing the path for passage of the temporary funding fix. But more arduous fiscal negotiations await them at the end of the year.
Under terms of a previous deal to avoid a federal default and allow the government to continue paying its bills, spending for defense and nondefense programs would rise 1% next year.
The Senate has been charting a course to go above that level, while House Republicans have been voting for steep cuts to many nondefense programs, and they have attached policy mandates to the spending bills that Democrats overwhelmingly oppose. So a final agreement will be difficult to reach.
In the meantime, the temporary bill will mostly fund the government at current levels through Dec. 20. However, an additional $231 million was included to bolster the Secret Service after the two assassination attempts against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Money was also added to aid with the presidential transition, among other things. Democrats unsettlingly have requested that the Secret Service take on an added role in overseeing the certification of the Electoral College vote, citing—without evidence—concern over another potential Jan. 6 uprising.
The $231 million for the Secret Service does come with strings attached. It’s contingent upon the agency complying with congressional oversight. The bill also allows the Secret Service to spend its allocations faster if needed.
“Everybody understands that’s critically important right now,” Johnson said of the Secret Service money.
Trump thanked lawmakers for the extra Secret Service funding at a campaign event Wednesday. He had earlier called on Republicans not to move forward on a spending bill without also including the SAVE Act.
In a recent letter, the Secret Service told lawmakers that a funding shortfall was not the reason for lapses in Trump’s security when a gunman climbed onto an unsecured roof on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and opened fire. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr., also made clear the agency had “immediate needs” and that he’s talking to Congress.
“The Secret Service has asked for this additional funding. It’s absolutely essential as they deal with the increased threat environment,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Congress is nowhere close to completing work on the dozen annual appropriations bills that fund much of the federal government. The House has passed five of the 12 bills, mostly along party lines. The Senate has passed zero.
Democrats sought to deflect blame by insisting that they were adhering to an agreement that McCarthy negotiated with the White House over spending caps for the 2024 and 2025 budget years.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee, said her party would accept nothing less than the 1% increase specified in that agreement. Also, if Republicans seek more than that for defense, there must be “dollar for dollar parity for nondefense,” she said.
The White House called on both chambers to pass the stopgap bill, while cautioning that it did not provide adequate funding to help communities recover from natural disasters and failed to include enough funding for health care provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In an amendment proposed earlier in the week, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., suggested that the VA could be funded by transferring money allocated for green-energy grants that was being wasted by the Department of Energy.
Johnson warned that when the temporary extension expires in December, he will not support a massive, catchall bill to fund the government, referred to as an omnibus, so another stopgap may be needed that would allow the new president and Congress to have the final say on fiscal year 2025 spending levels.
“I have no intention of going back to that terrible tradition,” Johnson said.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
