By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republicans in control of the U.S. House of Representatives have announced that they do not anticipate moving forward with a stopgap funding measure to keep federal agencies open this week, despite the looming possibility of a government shutdown in just 10 days.
Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to present three options for a stopgap, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), to lawmakers at a closed-door Republican conference on Tuesday. These options will be discussed during the conference and evaluated for their viability.
If Congress fails to agree on a temporary spending measure that President Joe Biden can sign into law before the November 17 deadline, funding for government operations will expire, leading to a potential shutdown of federal agencies.
However, with this week already shortened due to the Veterans Day observance on Friday, anonymous Republican lawmakers shared that it is unlikely the House will approve a CR this week. One lawmaker pointed out that the Republican policy of waiting three days before voting on legislation leaves little time for action this week.
Instead, House Republicans plan to prioritize passing their own partisan appropriations bills for 2024 during this week’s agenda.
The Republicans are considering at least three options for structuring a CR. One option, known as the “laddered” option, involves assigning separate deadlines in December and January. This would allow the House and Senate sufficient time to negotiate compromise legislation on specific 2024 appropriations bills. However, the details of this option remain uncertain.
Another option under consideration is a more conventional CR that would extend until January 19. This would provide lawmakers with the month of December to work on appropriations bills and address supplemental funding requests, including those related to Israel, Ukraine, and other priorities.
A third option involves negotiating with the Democratic-led Senate to pass a CR that can be approved quickly by both chambers.
Thus far, the House has passed seven out of the 12 appropriations bills for 2024 and aims to pass two more this week. These bills focus on funding transportation, housing and urban development, as well as financial services. Meanwhile, the Senate has already passed three appropriations bills in a package known as a minibus.
While the Senate’s legislation enjoys strong bipartisan support, the House has passed only partisan Republican measures that have been opposed by Democrats.
So far, only one category of appropriations legislation, which covers military construction and veterans’ benefits, has successfully passed both the House and the Senate, albeit in different forms.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Stephen Coates)
