Congress passes stopgap bill to avoid shutdown as lawmakers delay spending decisions until December

WASHINGTON — Congress passed a stopgap measure Wednesday that provides funding to government agencies through December, avoiding a shutdown for now, with final spending decisions not due until after the Nov. 5 election.

The Senate approved the bill by a 78-18 vote shortly after the House easily approved it. The bill generally funds agencies at current levels through Dec. 20. However, an additional $231 million was added to bolster the Secret Service after two attacks against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Money was also added to assist with the presidential transition, among other things.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk, where he must sign it.

“This bipartisanship is a good outcome for America,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said moments before the vote. “I hope it sets the tone for more constructive, bipartisan work when we come back in the fall.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, described the bill as taking “only necessary action,” a statement aimed at members of his own conference concerned about the level of spending.

Still, some Republicans found that impossible, forcing House GOP leaders to rely on Democratic votes to advance the bill through a process that requires at least two-thirds support from voting members. The final tally was 341-82, with Republicans delivering all the “no” votes in both chambers. Johnson said the only alternative to the ongoing resolution at this stage would be a government shutdown.

“It would be politically dishonest to shut down the government,” Johnson said. “I think everyone understands that.”

The House floor was largely empty during debate on the bill. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, was the lone critic among speakers, saying, “Every year we get into a vicious cycle, the same vicious cycle.”

Lawmakers in both chambers are eager to return to their states and districts to campaign on a short-lived funding fix, but they face more arduous fiscal negotiations later this year.

Under the terms and conditions previous contract To avoid a federal default and enable the government to continue paying its bills, spending on defense and other programs would augment by 1% next year.

The Senate is charting a course to exceed that level, while House Republicans are voting for drastic cuts to a range of nondefense programs and attaching policy mandates to spending bills that Democrats strongly oppose. So a final deal will be arduous to reach.

In the meantime, the short-lived bill will mostly keep government funding at current levels, with a few exceptions, such as a cash injection for the Secret Service.

The $231 million for the Secret Service comes with some restrictions. It depends on whether the agency complies with congressional oversight. The bill also allows the Secret Service to spend the funds more quickly if needed.

“Everybody understands this is incredibly important right now,” Johnson said of the Secret Service money.

Trump thanked lawmakers for the additional funding for the Secret Service at a campaign event on Wednesday. He had previously urged Republicans not to move forward with a spending bill without including a requirement that people provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. That legislation died in the House last week.

In a recent letter, the Secret Service told lawmakers that a funding shortage was not a reason for Trump’s security failures when the gunman was climbed onto an unsecured roof July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and opened fire. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. made clear that the agency had “urgent needs” and was talking to Congress.

“The Secret Service has requested additional funding. It is absolutely necessary as they address this growing threat,” said Senator Susan Collins, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The ongoing resolution is needed because Congress is far from completing its work on the dozen or so annual appropriations bills that fund much of the federal government. The House has passed five of the 12 bills, mostly along party lines. The Senate has passed zero.

Republicans blame Senate Democrats for the stalemate by failing to bring more than a dozen spending bills to a vote on the Senate floor, where they could be reconciled with House bills during negotiations. Democrats, however, counter that House Republicans are acting in bad faith by slowing down the process, undermining an agreement that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated with the White House on spending limits for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

Libertine. Rose DeLauroranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said her party would not accept anything less than the 1% augment outlined in the deal. Furthermore, if Republicans want more for defense, there needs to be “dollar-for-dollar parity on nondefense spending,” she said.

The White House has urged both chambers to pass the stopgap bill, warning that it does not provide enough money to assist communities cope with the effects of natural disasters and does not include enough money for health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Johnson has warned that he will not support a sweeping, sweeping government funding bill, known as an omnibus, when the short-lived extension expires in December, so another stopgap measure may be needed that would allow the up-to-date president and Congress to have the final say on spending levels for fiscal 2025.

“I have no intention of going back to that horrible tradition,” Johnson said.

Senator Patty Murray, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urged House Republicans “not to follow the loudest voices on the far right” in negotiations on the year-long bill.

“You can’t make deals to govern with people who don’t really want to govern,” Murray said.