The Hill’s Morning Report — House passes spending bill, narrowly avoiding shutdown
by Kristina Karisch - 12/15/22 6:25 AM ET
The House on Wednesday passed a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown, moving the Friday funding deadline to next week and allowing lawmakers more time to pass an omnibus spending package for the remainder of fiscal 2023.
The so-called continuing resolution (CR) passed the House in a 224-201 vote, and now heads to the Senate, where it must pass and be sent to President Biden’s desk before midnight on Friday to avoid a shutdown. The measure will keep the government funded at current levels through Dec. 23. Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) didn’t wade into details about the broader spending deal Wednesday, only saying negotiators now needed to “do some allocation.”
“We’ve made the first big, big, big, big step,” Shelby said.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that the Senate could pass the measure as soon as Thursday, provided there aren’t any “unwelcome brouhaha” — or actions by one senator that could hold up the bill in exchange for concessions or amendments.
House Republicans largely voted against the one-week stopgap, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is signaling opposition to a broader spending deal, too. This comes in contrast to others in Republican leadership, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has expressed support for an omnibus to be enacted sooner, citing concerns about funding for defense and national security.
“We were basically negotiating with the House Democrats and the Democrats here because some of the House Republicans have not shown as much interest in getting an omnibus,” Shelby told reporters on Wednesday (The Hill and Politico).
McCarthy’s opposition to the omnibus is fueling tensions between Senate and House GOP leaders. As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports, McConnell’s Senate allies say that McCarthy’s criticisms are “not helpful” to their efforts to pass the year-end spending package. One GOP senator, who spoke anonymously with The Hill, said McCarthy is making it tougher to wrap up the unfinished business of the 117th Congress and stirring up conservative critics.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/morning-report/3776141-the-hills-morning-report-house-passes-spending-bill-narrowly-avoiding-shutdown/
