With just four days remaining until a government shutdown, both the House and Senate will be back in session today, and the House this evening will vote on whether to advance four full-year appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024, a move that does nothing to avert a shutdown, but that House Republican leaders hope will build enough goodwill that holdouts on a stopgap funding bill will relent and advance a GOP-only short-term funding bill later this week. Last week, GOP holdouts blocked consideration of the stopgap as they demanded further cuts across all appropriations bills. Now, leaders appear to have an agreement for such cuts, but a handful of holdouts remain opposed to a stopgap of any kind, putting the leaders of the razor-thin majority in a very tough spot. Leadership presented a new continuing resolution proposal, which would extend funding until October 31st, decrease spending during that time period, include a bulk of the House GOP conference’s marquee border bill and create a commission on the national debt to examine mandatory and discretionary spending. However, it is also still unclear whether Republicans have the votes to advance the appropriations bills this evening. The chamber is expected to vote on a rule, which governs debate on legislation, on legislation that funds the Department of Defense; Department of Homeland Security; Department of State and foreign operations; and the Department of Agriculture, rural development and Food and Drug Administration. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) needed to flip at least some of the five GOP defectors. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) is already a “hard no” on the rule. The other defectors — Andy Biggs (Arizona), Eli Crane (Arizona), Matt Rosendale (Montana) and Dan Bishop (North Carolina) were previously potential no votes. But as of this afternoon, McCarthy has flipped at least two of those members: with Bishop saying on Tuesday that he will vote to move forward on the bills and Crane is expected to vote yes as well. But GOP leaders’ math problems are compounded by their attendance issues and Democrats, who are united in opposing the rule vote, are rushing to shore up their numbers while Republicans are missing several members due to health and family issues. Representative Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma) is expected to return Wednesday after getting injured on his farm, while Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who is undergoing chemotherapy and on extended leave, is potentially set to be back in the Capitol for votes Tuesday night. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) will not be back for votes Tuesday, according to her office.
While the House tries to move forward, Senate leaders are headed toward unveiling a short-term government funding stopgap measure that will be relatively clean and is not expected to include significant amounts of money for the war in Ukraine or disaster relief. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) want to avoid a government shutdown at week’s end and are using H.R.3935, to amend title 49, United States Code, to reauthorize and improve the Federal Aviation Administration and other civil aviation programs as a legislative vehicle. Whether the continuing resolution will include any money for supporting the war in Ukraine is an issue the leaders are still negotiating, but if Ukraine money is included it will be far less than the $24 billion that President Joe Biden requested for Ukraine in August. Disaster relief money is also in limbo, as Democrats want to tie it to President Biden’s full request for emergency funding. But a bipartisan “anomaly” that’s already in an initial House version of stopgap legislation would free up $20 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund without adding extra money that House conservatives have said they oppose.
