House lawmakers, fresh from their August break, are expected to vote this week on a Senate-passed measure that would fund federal agencies through Dec. 11, avoiding a government shutdown before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Republican leaders aim to pass the stopgap funding bill Tuesday under a “suspension of the rules” — a fast-track process that requires support from a two-thirds majority of the chamber, according to two House GOP aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss party strategy.
Bills on the House suspension calendar get limited time for debate and are not subject to amendment or other procedural hurdles, allowing Republican leaders to move quickly to avert a shutdown. With control of Congress on the line, both parties are eager to return to the campaign trail.
“That’ll be a priority over in the House because we get things done,” Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) said Sunday in an interview on Fox News.
The House passed its own stopgap funding measure in July, but it lacked support in the Senate. Senate appropriators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Patty Murray (D-Washington) instead drafted their own stopgap bill, which passed the Senate on a bipartisan 90-6 vote.
In addition to funding the government past the Sept. 30 deadline, the measure includes additional funding for housing and nutrition programs requested by the White House. It also would temporarily block the White House budget office from adopting a rule to give political appointees more power over discretionary grants.
Despite that constraint on its authority, the White House has issued a statement of administration policy in support of the legislation.
“President [Donald] Trump strongly opposes another futile Government shutdown,” the White House said in the statement. “Every Member of Congress should support passage of this [bill] to keep the Government open as discussions on fullyear appropriations continue.”
If the House approves the measure, lawmakers will be free to head back out of town by the end of the week.
Avoiding a shutdown is just the most urgent of several items on lawmakers’ to-do list before November elections. Republicans also hope to approve fresh funding for the war in Iran and implement new restrictions on voting — top Trump priorities. And they want to provide emergency assistance to American farmers battered by Trump administration policies, including tariffs and high fuel costs caused by the Iran war.
GOP lawmakers are looking to use the reconciliation process to advance all three priorities, which would allow them to pass with a simple majority in both chambers, forgoing Democratic support. But last month, Senate Republicans delayed a vote on a budget framework — the first step in the reconciliation process — amid opposition from multiple members of the conference.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) told reporters that senators would bring forward a “better” budget framework in September.
Work on the federal farm bill — which is due to expire Sept. 30 — is also stalled just as lawmakers are eager to find another way to demonstrate support for a critical constituency. The House passed its version in April, but the Senate has struggled to advance its own version amid opposition from Democrats who do not support reductions in federal funding for food stamps proposed by Republicans.
With the Senate not due back in Washington until Sept. 14, House lawmakers are in a holding pattern on these measures. Emmer, speaking to Fox News on Sunday, expressed frustration with the Senate logjam.
“We sent our priorities over to the Senate,” he said. “We sent the Clarity Act. … We sent the Save America Act several times, and it sits over there, languishing in the Senate. … It really is going to be on the Senate’s shoulders to start getting something done when we get back.”
Besides voting on the stopgap budget bill this week, the House is expected to vote on a censure motion against Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-North Carolina) following a recommendation from the Ethics Committee.
Earlier this month, the committee found that Edwards engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two female staffers, behavior Edwards denies.
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