WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are off to a faster, more unified start this year on funding the federal government, passing four of 12 annual appropriations bills before the end of June, up from zero this time last year, when the recent majority got off to a rocky start.
But there is no denying that there will be a battle over government spending.
All four bills that have passed the House so far have sparked veto threats from President Joe Biden’s administration and faced broad Democratic opposition. In their current form, they have no chance of passing in the Senate. That means a drawn-out, months-long fight that will likely require one or more stopgap spending bills to keep the federal government fully open when the recent fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
Here you will find a snapshot of the current status of the approval process and the likely crisis points.
Progress
Republicans in the House of Representatives want to pass the dozens of budget bills individually rather than combining them into a single, comprehensive omnibus bill. They believe this would lead to excessive spending and flawed government policy because such extensive legislation would be harder to change or stop without risking a government shutdown.
Earlier this year, Speaker Mike Johnson split the earmarked spending into two bills. Congress finally passed them in March, nearly halfway through the fiscal year. Now, House Republicans want to move the fiscal year 2025 spending bills forward more quickly. Johnson boasted that the House passed four of next year’s spending bills while the Senate passed none.
“Republicans in the House are committed to rebuilding their muscle memory and restoring regular order,” Johnson said.
Cuts in non-defense spending
The Republicans’ momentum in the House is likely momentary. They have chosen to go their own way rather than work with Democrats in crafting the bills. Republican leadership has jettisoned key aspects of an agreement then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated with Biden that included strict spending limits as part of a deal to avoid a crippling default.
The agreement called for defense and non-defense spending to boost by 1% in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. But House Republicans have decided they will pursue a course of raising defense only by that amount. Non-defense spending will be cut by about 6%, rejecting adjustments agreed to by McCarthy and the White House that would allow for higher non-defense spending than the debt ceiling allows.
The difference between the two paths is significant. Had House Republicans stuck to the McCarthy-Biden agreement, nondefense spending would have risen from nearly $773 billion this year to more than $780 billion next fiscal year. Instead, they are seeking nondefense spending of about $725 billion.
House Budget Committee Republican Chairman Tom Cole argued that House Republicans are sticking to what is in the debt ceiling bill. Not everything in the Biden-McCarthy deal is in it. Negotiators had agreed to reclaim funds approved outside the budget process to shore up non-defense spending and keep it relatively stable. For example, negotiators agreed to cut $20 billion from the IRS and employ that money elsewhere.
The White House says that Republicans in the House of Representatives “instead of respecting their agreement” and engaging in a bipartisan process, “are once again wasting time on partisan bills that would lead to drastic cuts” in law enforcement, education, housing and other programs.
Cole argues that the Democrats set the GOP on course by joining eight Republicans in voting to overthrow McCarthy.
“Democrats need to understand that they had a hand in removing the speaker. It was their decision. They had every right to do it. But if you think you can get rid of the person you made the deal with and the deal would stay the same, maybe you need to think again,” Cole said.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are adding numerous policies to the budget bills that are doomed to fail in the Senate and the White House, where Democrats hold the majority. For example, the House defense budget would not allow the Pentagon to reimburse military personnel for travel expenses for abortions. Many soldiers and their families are stationed in states where abortion is now illegal, forcing them to travel for abortions.
The Democrats see the approach of the Republicans in the House of Representatives as a failure to learn the lessons of the last year. Any spending bills that are passed need the support of both parties. They described the vote in the House on the spending bills as a waste of time, since the bills would have no chance in the Senate.
“Extreme MAGA Republicans are marching with us toward a government shutdown,” warned Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
How things stand in the Senate
Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray and the committee’s top Republican, Senator Susan Collins, have been holding behind-the-scenes discussions about overall spending on defense and non-defense programs.
Both want to exceed the one percent boost in defense and non-defense spending provided for in the Biden-McCarthy agreement.
For some Republicans, increasing the defense budget is a top priority, but Murray insists on parity.
“Parity is the order of the day,” she said. “Because investing in our families, in our economy, in the security and success of our communities is no less important than investing in the Pentagon.”
On Thursday, the committee is scheduled to consider the first three spending bills and set the maximum amounts to be allocated for each of the 12 spending bills.
If the Senate passes the 1% boost, it could complicate passage in the House, where many Republicans view the spending caps as too generous. A few months after those caps were passed as part of the debt ceiling bill, eight Republicans sided with the Democrats and ousted then-Speaker McCarthy.
Lame duck or wait until the next president is sworn in?
No one expects Congress to finish its work on the spending plan before the start of the recent fiscal year on October 1. That means lawmakers in both houses will have to agree on a stopgap bill to keep government agencies running for a few more weeks while they resolve their differences.
Congress is not expected to be in session in October, so lawmakers can be at home campaigning. That means budget legislation will be pushed back to November and possibly December, or postponed until a recent president and Congress. Some Republicans believe they have a good chance of winning the Senate and the White House, so they should wait until next year to pass budget legislation.
But leaders are pushing to address spending this year, saying that if Republicans do take control of the Senate and the White House, they will want to focus on other priorities, including tax policy and the border.
“Whether we win the Senate or not, the filibuster tactic is still there and that is the real leverage for both sides in the Senate,” Cole said. “So why burden a new president with that who hasn’t even put his people in place yet?”
