White House Asks Congress to Adopt Short-Term Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — Earlier this August, the White House urged Congress to pass a short-term spending bill to fund key federal programs through September 30 to avert a government shutdown.

Senior officials from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said Congress will need to pass a short-term funding extension, also known as a continuing resolution, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill seem unlikely to pass its annual appropriations package with the deadline fast approaching, the Washington Post first reported late last month.

“Although the crucial work continues to reach a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, it is clear that a short-term continuing resolution (CR) will be needed next month,” an OMB spokesperson said in a statement.

Congress will be returning to Washington for a packed September session, as lawmakers from both chambers will have to come to an agreement on various spending bills. For months, Democratic and GOP leadership have been working to advance a series of appropriation bills to fund the government through the next year.

Biden wants to avert a government shutdown

In addition to the supplemental funding, OMB director Shalanda Young coupled the contingency request to also address several key priorities of the administration and fund a series of budget-strapped programs.

The Biden administration is proposing a budget stopgap that would maintain current spending levels while allocating additional funds to various programs. For instance, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program requires a budget increase to sustain nutritional aid for low-income families and prevent benefit reductions.

Additionally, the administration has requested increased funding to enhance security measures and process arrivals at the US-Mexico border, along with additional defense aid for Ukraine. The White House emphasizes the importance of averting a government shutdown and providing essential funding for aid programs.

Every year, Congress almost inconceivably passes the 12 funding bills needed to keep most federal programs operating, usually through an omnibus package. However this year, with Republicans winning a majority in the House, all 12 bills will be voted through regular order which adds additional procedural time to an already busy September session.

Before leaving town for the August recess, the Senate advanced all 12 appropriations bills out of committee with bipartisan support, keeping in line to the $1.59 trillion discretionary budget layout that President Biden and top Republicans agreed to earlier this spring. In contrast, the House only approved its own version of the annual defense budget bill, in a 219-211 party line vote.

Lingering ideological divides

During another budgetary showdown in May of this year, party leaders worked out a funding framework to raise the country’s debt ceiling which set spending toplines for the upcoming fiscal year.

Yet currently, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are drastically apart on key policy terms, with House Republicans calling for additional spending cuts, a nonstarter for Democrats and President Biden.

The debt limit agreement capped non-defense spending at current levels for the 2024 fiscal year, with a modest 1% increase expected in 2025, which effectively translates into a budget reduction in real terms when adjusted for rising costs and inflation. A few handful of hard-line Republicans are demanding even steeper cuts, calling for benefit reductions on widely utilized social programs to address the $31.4 trillion national debt.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reportedly told House Republicans he believes Congress will have to pass a short-term stopgap bill. His Senate counterpart, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), also signaled support for a continuing resolution, in order to give appropriators enough time to draft a year-long spending package. Earlier this August the two leaders met and agreed to adopt legislation that would continue federal spending for the next few months.

But even as party leadership seems poised to craft and adopt a short-term deal that extends the deadline into December, far-right conservatives are pushing back against any attempt to reach an agreement, which could potentially throw a wrench into crucial negotiations.

House Republicans currently hold a narrow 6-seat majority and lawmakers of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, who have enough members to tank or greatly influence policy, have pledged to oppose any spending deal that doesn’t include their priorities. The group has called to roll back spending to fiscal year 2022 levels, far below the spending toplines enacted in May.

Rep. Bob Good (R-Virginia), a member of the Freedom Caucus, has openly spoken about undermining any short-term resolution, pledging to use “every tool at our disposal” to drastically cut spending and even seemed encouraged by the possibility of a shutdown.

“Sadly, unfortunately there are some Republicans in the House who don’t want to cut spending. Worst yet many Republicans in the Senate want to actually increase spending,” Good said in front of the Capitol steps. “We should not fear a government shutdown. Most of what we do up here is bad anyway. Most of what we do here hurts the American people.”

Speaker McCarthy will be walking a fine line between appeasing the most ideological members of his caucus – who can call for a motion to vacate the leader at any time, and living up to the deal Congress and the President agreed to earlier this year to fund basic government services.

At the same time, GOP leadership will also have to work with the majority of their conference to move any legislation through the House and iron out differences on the Senate’s spending bills.

The White House and congressional Democrats, for the most part, have been critical of the Republican approach. They have warned that a shutdown leaves many at risk, citing communities hit hard by natural disasters and the potential consequences for efforts to combat the illegal drug trade.

“This week, President Biden took action to take on fentanyl trafficking and support communities responding to natural disasters,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates, said in a memo this week. “House Republicans have a stark choice to make: will they honor their word, meet their responsibility to avoid a shutdown, and act on life and death priorities like fighting the fentanyl crisis?”

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) also vowed his caucus will oppose any spending agreement that goes below caps established in the bipartisan debt ceiling bill. In response to the Freedom Caucus’ demands, which ranged from adopting contentious border security legislation to concerns about the Justice Department, and resistance to providing aid for Ukraine, Jeffries was clear.

“House Republicans are determined to shutdown the government and crash our economy. We will fight these MAGA extremists every step of the way,” he said on Twitter/X.

The House begins the upcoming legislative session on September 12, where lawmakers will have a mere 11 voting days to resolve significant policy and budgetary differences. Whether congressional leadership can successfully avoid a federal government shutdown, remains to be seen.