WASHINGTON (AP) – The House of Representatives has approved a $1.2 trillion package. expense bill On Friday, hours before funding for some key federal agencies was set to expire, the budget year was set for nearly six months in a long-awaited move, pushing the threat of a government shutdown into the fall. become.
The bill passed by a vote of 286-134 and now heads to the Senate, where leadership expects a final vote later Friday. More than 70% of the funds will be allocated to defense costs.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) introduced the bill under the streamlined process, which requires two-thirds support for approval. The vote was extremely close, reflecting anger within the Republican Party over the content of the bill and the speed with which it was brought to a vote.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia hinted at more problems to come, saying: Efforts to oust Johnson The House began voting, but held off on further action until the House returned two weeks later.This is the same tool used last year eliminate the last Republican chairmanKevin McCarthy of California.
The breakdown of the votes was 101 Republicans in favor and 112 against. On the other hand, 185 Democratic Party members were in favor and 22 were against.
Action in the Senate could take time, so lawmakers may still miss the midnight deadline to fund the government. However, in the short term, the practical impact will be minimal. Since most federal employees are off-duty on weekends and many government services are funded by previous legislation, the shutdown will likely end without a hitch unless things spill over into Monday.
“Democrats and Republicans have about 13 hours to work together to ensure the government continues to function. It's not going to be easy,” Senate Majority Whip Chuck Schumer said at the opening of the Senate. The hospital general secretary said. “We must work together and avoid unnecessary delays.”
Johnson split this year's spending bill into two parts after House Republicans objected to the annual practice of requiring voters to vote in favor of large, complex bills known as omnibuses with little time for debate. Prime Minister Boris Johnson saw this as a breakthrough, calling the bill “the best outcome achievable in a divided government.”
Still, it was clearly unpopular with most Republicans, who saw it as having too few policy priorities and too much spending.
“In short, this is a complete and utter surrender,” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Missouri.
Opponents took particular issue with the actions of Republican lawmakers who voted for the bill and the House Republican leadership. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) went so far as to say, “It's clear that the Democrats are in control of the speaker's gavel.”
Lawmakers took six months into the current fiscal year to move closer to their government funding goal, a process that was stalled by conservatives who pushed for more policy mandates and deeper spending cuts than the Democratic-led Senate and White House had in mind. Running late. The impasse necessitated several short-term stopgap spending bills to keep agencies funded while negotiations continued.
Rep. Kay Granger, the Republican chair of the House Appropriations Committee, resigned from her position after the vote. She will remain on the committee, where she will provide advice and mentorship to her colleagues as needed, she said.
Democratic leaders pitched the bill to lawmakers, emphasizing its ability to end hundreds of policy mandates and deep spending cuts.
“This is a good outcome for the American people in terms of standing up for health, safety, education, national security and, of course, economic well-being above all else,” Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
The first package of year-round spending bills provided funding to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and others. passed by parliament Two weeks ago, there were only hours left until funding for these institutions expired.
Together, the two packages will provide approximately $1.66 trillion in discretionary spending for the budget year. This does not include funding for programs such as Social Security and Medicare or the growing national debt.
To win Republican support, Johnson touted that part of the spending increase would be earmarked for about 8,000 additional detention beds for immigrants awaiting immigration processing or deportation. This is an increase of approximately 24% from current levels. Republican leaders also emphasized additional funding to hire about 2,000 Border Patrol agents.
After the vote, Johnson, who clearly heard the concerns of those on the right, said he plans to highlight the differences between the two parties over “the catastrophe at our southern border that has killed countless Americans.” He said there would be active discussions over the next two weeks. He said a bill would be introduced to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, Democrats boast of a $1 billion increase for Head Start programs and new child care facilities for military families. They also highlighted a $120 million increase in funding for cancer research and a $100 million increase for Alzheimer's disease research.
“Don't get me wrong, we worked under very tough top-line numbers and had to contend with literally hundreds of extreme Republican poison pills from the House,” Democratic Senate President Patty Murray said. “Needless to say, there were some unthinkable cuts.” Appropriations Committee. “But at the end of the day, this is a bill to move our country and our families forward.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on the Senate to pass the spending bill as soon as possible.
“This bill is a compromise,” she said. She said, “No team got everything they wanted.”
The bill's spending is roughly in line with what then-Speaker McCarthy agreed to. It went well It reached a deal with the White House in May 2023 that capped spending for two years and suspended the debt ceiling until January 2025 so the federal government could continue paying its bills.
Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told lawmakers last year's agreement, which became the Fiscal Responsibility Act, will save the federal government about $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
Lawmakers from both parties expressed frustration with how long the process took and that the final outcome was different than many expected. They had long warned that Republicans would not get much of the policy authority they sought or cut spending beyond what Mr. McCarthy and the White House agreed to last year.
“People were living in a dream world, thinking, 'This is going to be a different direction than what Mr. McCarthy agreed to with the president,'” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska).
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Associated Press Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and staff writers Farnoush Amiri and Chris Megerian contributed to this report.
