- The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 6, 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson relied on Democrats to pass a massive spending package Wednesday that will fund roughly half the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year and avoid a partial shutdown this week.

The $460 billion spending package passed in a 339-85 vote with more Democrats than Republicans supporting it.

The six-bill package includes funding legislation for Veterans Affairs, interior, agriculture, transportation, energy and water, and the Justice Department.

It now goes to the Democrat-run Senate, where it is expected to win final approval before the Friday shutdown deadline.

The next big bill that must be passed by March 22 will be more difficult as it covers hot-button spending on Homeland Security and the Defense Department.

After that, the House can move on to spending bills for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

To get out of the current spending fight, House Republicans had to abandon their promise to pass spending bills one at a time. Congress hasn’t done that in decades.

“The reason that it is so difficult to do is because Washington has no muscle memory on how to do that,” Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, told reporters.

Congress typically crams all 12 spending bills into a massive, catch-all bill or omnibus that is often brimming with policy riders. Most Republicans championed the smaller package, or “minibus” in Capitol Hill jargon, as breaking that cycle. It also included modest conservative wins such as cutting funds for the Environmental Protection Agency and FBI.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, Texas Republican, said the GOP made progress.

“We drafted the most conservative bills in history.” Ms. Granger said. “We considered house bills individually on the floor, and we avoided a massive omnibus measure.”

Mr. Johnson still needed Democrats to advance the package, which has become routine this year on spending legislation. That is because the House Freedom Caucus has decried Mr. Johnson’s handling of the spending, including signing off on the package’s $12 billion in earmarks.

Still, Mr. Johnson is not expected to suffer the same fate as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by archconservatives for similar spending moves.

Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said that the legislation would burst through the spending caps previously negotiated by Mr. McCarthy and President Biden, and add billions to the country’s staggering debt.

“Republicans will go around to talk about how they scored major wins, how they set out and delivered for the American people,” Mr. Roy, Texas Republican, said. “Fact of the matter is, we did no such thing.”

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.

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