In The News
House passes $1.2T federal spending bill, sending measure to Senate ahead of midnight shutdown
Washington,
March 22, 2024
Tags:
Federal Spending
By Josh Christenson
The House narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion federal spending bill on Friday — which the Senate will have to vote through quickly and send to President Biden for his signature before a partial shutdown at midnight. The lower chamber voted 286-134 to approve the 1,012-page bill to fund the State Department, the Pentagon and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and the legislative branch until Sept. 30. More Republicans opposed the legislation than voted for it, but the measure was still able to clear the two-thirds barrier and move to the upper chamber for consideration. The White House called on Congress to pass the bill “without delay” on Thursday so the president could sign it before roughly three-quarters of the funding for federal agencies included in it runs out after 11:59 p.m. In a stunning move, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) mid-vote, a Republican aide confirmed to The Post after Punchbowl News first reported it. Another aide said Greene would have to announce her motion at one of the chamber’s microphones, but the House was likely to gavel out of session before that could happen. “As far as I could tell, the overwhelming majority of right-wing policy riders have been rejected and are not part of the spending agreement, including in critical areas,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said at a Thursday press conference. “We made changes and decided on efforts that include countering China, developing next-generation weapons, and investing in the quality of life of our service members,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) said in a floor speech. “This package also includes other key priorities. It continues our strong support for Israel, combats the flow of illegal drugs, and fully funds medical research for cancer and chronic diseases.” House GOP leadership further celebrated cuts to funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency, a Palestinian refugee aid group that had employees participate in the Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel, as well as for federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. A coalition of conservative fiscal groups, pro-Israel organizations and military associations also backed the six-bill spending package. But many Republicans railed against leadership for putting it up for a quick vote — and vowed to oppose it on the floor. “I will be voting NO on today’s appropriations package,” Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said on X. “I have a real problem with giving the Biden Administration more money without changes to his border policy. “I will not fund his reckless agenda that includes the transportation & housing of more illegal immigrants, including criminals, in New York City & across America,” she added. In a Tuesday interview with Fox News host Neil Cavuto, Malliotakis had called on Biden to “use his discretion” to authorize border policies to stop the influx of millions of migrants coming across the southern border, which has broken records every year since the president took office in 2021. “He can reinstate Remain in Mexico, end catch-and-release, make adjustments to parole and asylum,” added Malliotakis, a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. “If he’s not going to use his discretion, we need to require him to do so,” she said of the president. “This is the only leverage we have is during this funding process.” “As you know, James Madison said we have the power of the purse. That was given to Congress for a reason, and this is a time to be using it to get some concessions because we can’t continue down this unsustainable path with this unsecure border which is so dangerous.” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in a floor speech ahead of the vote also cited video The Post captured on the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday of more than 100 migrants swarming Texas National Guard troops and ripping through razor wire to enter the nation illegally. “I don’t know how anybody expected them to stop them — these people coming into our country wholesale,” Perry said. “And what was amazing and astounding as well, Madam Speaker, is that those folks all ran to the Border Patrol to come into our country illegally.” “Border Patrol being ordered by President Biden and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas to allow these people to come into our country,” he emphasized. “This bill makes Americans pay for their own sell-out. And I vote ‘no.’" House Freedom Caucus members also held a press conference hours before the floor vote to call out earmarks and call on their colleagues to tank it — and to take a swipe at Johnson for the lack of lead time. “We don’t need 72 hours to vote against a bad bill,” Freedom Caucus chairman Bob Good (R-Va.) sneered. “Some will say that the Republicans are in the majority in the House, but it’s clear that the Democrats own the speaker’s gavel because, this bill, it’s not a Republican piece of legislation — it’s keeping the border open,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) said. They declined, however, to answer questions about whether some members of their caucus were considering a motion to vacate Johnson’s speakership. Congress passed an earlier six-bill, $467.5 billion “minibus” on March 8 — also despite Republican opposition — which funded the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, Commerce, Justice and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and military construction. The funding completes a topline $1.66 trillion spending agreement that Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reached in January, comprised of $886 billion in defense funding and $704 billion in non-defense discretionary funding. |
