WASHINGTON — The House has overwhelmingly approved a stopgap spending bill that would keep the federal government funded through Dec. 11, clearing the measure for President Donald Trump and removing the threat of a government shutdown before the November midterm elections.
As the CU Daily reported earlier here, the credit union trade groups have said the vote on funding the government could have implications on the remaining congressional calendar.
The House voted 370-48 for the continuing resolution. The Senate approved the legislation 90-6 in August. Federal funding otherwise would have expired Sept. 30, at the end of the current fiscal year.
Spending at Current Levels
The measure generally maintains federal spending at current levels while giving lawmakers until after the elections to negotiate full-year appropriations legislation. NPR reported that lawmakers in both parties were eager to avoid another shutdown as they head into the final weeks of campaigning.
“It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said, according to the AP.
The legislation passed under suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure requiring support from two-thirds of the House and preventing amendments, The Washington Post reported. Nineteen Republicans voted against the measure.
Changes in Legislation
The Senate made several changes to an earlier House funding bill, including temporarily blocking implementation of an Office of Management and Budget proposal that would give political appointees greater authority over federal grants.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, supported the revised legislation. She said Democrats remained concerned that the proposed grant policy could allow the administration to steer federal funding based on political considerations, according to the AP.
The stopgap measure postpones a larger spending fight until after the elections. Republicans are seeking substantial increases in defense spending while proposing reductions in many domestic programs, while Democrats are pressing for comparable treatment of defense and nondefense spending.
The bill now goes to Trump, whose administration supports the measure,
