WASHINGTON (AP) — The House of Representatives passed a temporary measure that would ensure funding for federal agencies starting next Tuesday with the start of the recent fiscal year, but would delay final decisions on spending for the next fiscal year until after the Nov. 5 election.
The interim measure, which was approved on Wednesday by a vote of 341 to 82, essentially provides for the funding of the secret services at the current level until December 20. However, an additional $231 million was made available to strengthen the Secret Service following the two assassination attempts on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Funds were also made available to support the transition of office in the presidency, among other things.
The bill will next go to the Senate for final approval, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., saying he has reached an agreement that will ensure quick passage.
“This is how things should be done,” Schumer said. “Without confrontation, without delay.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the measure a measure that does “only what is absolutely necessary,” a statement aimed at members of his own conference who were concerned about the level of spending.
Still, that’s a no-go for some Republicans, forcing House Republican leadership to rely on Democratic votes to get the bill through a process that requires the support of at least two-thirds of voting members. Johnson said the only alternative to moving forward with the resolution at that stage would have been a government shutdown.
“It would be a political misconduct to shut down the government,” Johnson said. “I think that is clear to everyone.”
The House floor was largely empty during debate on the measure. Lawmakers in both chambers are eager to return to their home states and districts to campaign and pave the way for passage of a temporary funding solution, but they face even more tough budget negotiations later this year.
Under the terms of an earlier agreement designed to prevent a federal default and allow the government to continue paying its bills, spending on defense and other programs would escalate by 1 percent next year.
The Senate has set a course to go beyond that level, while Republicans in the House have voted for drastic cuts to many non-military programs and have added policy provisions to spending bills that Democrats overwhelmingly oppose, making a final agreement tough to reach.
In the meantime, the interim legislation will keep government funding largely at current levels, with some exceptions, such as the cash injection for the Secret Service.
The $231 million for the Secret Service, however, is conditional on the agency fulfilling Congress’s oversight mandates. The law also allows the Secret Service to spend its funds more quickly if necessary.
“Everyone understands that this is critically important right now,” Johnson said of the Secret Service money.
Trump thanked lawmakers at a campaign rally on Wednesday for the additional funding for the Secret Service. He had previously called on Republicans not to pass a budget bill without including a requirement to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. That bill failed in the House of Representatives last week.
In a recent letter, the Secret Service told lawmakers that funding shortfalls were not the reason for the security lapses at Trump’s home on July 13 when a gunman climbed onto an unsecured roof and opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. also made clear that the agency had an “immediate need” and that he was speaking with Congress.
The resolution to continue the budget authorization is necessary because Congress is far from finished working on the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the bulk of federal funding. The House has passed five of the 12 bills, most of them along party lines. The Senate has passed none.
Republicans blame Senate Democrats for the current impasse for failing to bring the dozens of appropriations bills to a vote in the Senate, where they could then be reconciled with House bills during negotiations. But Democrats counter that House Republicans are acting in bad faith and delaying the process by undermining an agreement former Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated with the White House on spending caps for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democratic member of the Budget Committee, said her party would not accept anything less than the 1 percent escalate stipulated in the agreement. And if Republicans demand more for defense, there must be “dollar-for-dollar parity for nondefense spending,” she said.
“We know where we need to go. And I hope this bill provides the bipartisan momentum needed to get us there,” DeLauro said.
The White House urged both chambers to pass the interim bill, but pointed out that it does not provide sufficient funding to facilitate communities deal with natural disasters, nor does it provide enough funding for health care provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Nevertheless, the government called for rapid adoption to “avoid a costly and unnecessary government shutdown” and to ensure sufficient time for the full-year spending package to be passed.
Johnson warned that he would not support a huge, all-encompassing government funding bill, known as an omnibus bill, after the recent deadline expires in December, so another stopgap measure may be needed that would give the recent president and Congress the final decision on spending levels for the 2025 fiscal year.
“I have no intention of returning to that terrible tradition,” Johnson said.
