Both the House and Senate are back in session today, as Washington works to try to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month. House Republicans announced a proposed short-term spending bill yesterday that is now facing internal opposition that could sink the measure and complicate the conference’s attempt to show unity in its opening offer to the Senate and White House. The deal, crafted by leaders in the Main Street Caucus and House Freedom Caucus would avoid a looming October 1st shutdown by funding the government through October 31st, keeping Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs at current levels while cutting all discretionary spending by 8 percent. Along with that, it would include the House GOP’s H.R. 2 border crackdown bill, minus its provisions about requiring E-Verify. It does not include disaster relief funds or funding for Ukraine from the White House’s supplemental funding request in August, which it had proposed attaching to a continuing resolution. In addition, the agreement also calls for passing an appropriations bill to fund the Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal 2024 in tandem with the CR bill. Enough members have said that they are against the plan to block it on the House floor, even though Republican leaders still hope to bring it up this week. But even if it passes the House, it faces slim odds of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate and being signed into law by the White House.
In the Senate, the appropriations process had been moving very smoothly, with all 12 spending bills passing the Senate Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan basis with unanimous or lopsided votes while steering clear of the extraneous policy fights that can doom spending bills. On Thursday, the Senate voted 91 to 7 to bring the first three spending bills to the floor. Then Senator Ron Johnson, (R-Wisconsin), acting in solidarity with his fellow right-wing Republicans in the House objected to a carefully negotiated agreement on potential amendments to the bills, arguing the measures should be considered separately. It was a rather technical point since they had been debated and passed separately and unanimously by the committee and were merged on the floor mainly to save time. As the Senate reconvenes this week, negotiations continue and a search is on for procedural tactics that could circumvent Senator Johnson’s blockade.
For today, the Senate will convene at 3:00 P.M. and will resume consideration of Calendar #198, H.R.4366, the legislative vehicle for MilCon VA, Agriculture, and THUD appropriations. The Senate will also begin consideration of the nomination of Vernon D. Oliver to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut.
The House will meet at 2:00 P.M. and will consider eight bills under suspension of the Rules from the Veterans Affairs and Natural Resources Committees including H.R. 3981 – Veterans Education Oversight Expansion Act.
