Congress’ work on spending bills has ground to a halt with less than two weeks of working days scheduled before the first deadline to stop a partial government shutdown.
Veteran appropriators said it was doubtful either the two spending bills due by a Jan. 19 deadline or the three due by a Feb. 2 deadline would be finished in time.
“I’m not betting on it right now,” said Rep. Steve Womack, an Arkansas Republican on the Appropriations Committee.
The House has passed just seven of the 12 annual government funding bills, but GOP infighting has halted work on the remaining five bills.
Neither the House nor the Senate has completed any spending bill since before lawmakers took a Thanksgiving break. The Democratic-run Senate has passed just three of the 12 annual spending bills.
After the House and Senate pass their bills, lawmakers still must negotiate a final version that can clear both chambers.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida Republican, urged his colleagues to accept that neither side can get everything it wants.
“Whether I like it or not, that’s just a factual statement,” Mr. Diaz-Balart said. “So the goal is to have very strong Republican victories in what we all know are ultimately going to have to be bipartisan bills.”
Bogging down the process is a dispute about the overall spending number.
As part of the deal struck in May to suspend the government’s $31.4 trillion debt limit, the topline spending number for non-defense spending in fiscal 2024 was set at $1.59 trillion. The GOP-led House wants to spend less and Senate Democrats want to spend up to — or as House Republicans contend — above the cap.
The debt limit deal, which was agreed to by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy before he was removed from the post, also triggers an automatic 1% across-the-board spending cut if Congress doesn’t pass the 12 annual bills in time.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, could resort to a full-year stopgap bill, but that would not prevent the automatic 1% spending cut.
He has vowed not to use another short-term spending bill. He also threatened to put a full-year stopgap on the floor if Senate leaders don’t agree to a new topline number by the end of the month.
Mr. Womack said that nearly every likely outcome is grim.
“A full year [stopgap] is bad, and it’s marginally better than a government shutdown, but not much,” he said.
House Freedom Caucus members, who led the charge for spending below the cap in the debt ceiling deal, are begrudgingly warming to the $1.59 trillion budget.
“Let’s go work it through at a spending level of $1.59 trillion or lower,” said Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican in the Freedom Caucus. “That’s what we’re saying. Let’s do our job.”
But negotiations between House and Senate leaders on the topline number are at a standstill. That leaves appropriators twiddling their thumbs.
“It’s been almost impossible to operate. You need a clear top line early and agreed upon,” said Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican on the Appropriations Committee. “Honestly, the more non-appropriators in the appropriation process usually the more difficult it is because most of them don’t understand how it works.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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