Just two days before the U.S. government shuts down, the House of Representatives has unveiled and is scheduled to vote on a month-long continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government.
The 165-page bill, called the “Continuing Appropriations and Border Security Enhancement Act, 2024,” was released on Sept. 29 and would reduce funding by almost 8.13 percent for almost all 12 appropriations—bringing the total amount to $1.59 trillion. It would run through Oct. 31.
These appropriations are Agriculture-Food and Drug Administration; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Department of Defense; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act; Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies; legislative branch; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies; Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
The only ones that would be exempt from the almost 8.13 percent cut would be the Defense Department, Veterans Affairs Department, and disaster relief.
The legislation includes border security measures such as resuming border wall construction, which President Joe Biden paused on Jan. 20, 2021—the day he took office in what was a repudiation of his predecessor Donald Trump’s hardline border and immigration policies.
The CR does not include funding for Ukraine amid its war with Russia. On Sept. 28, 117 Republicans voted against Ukraine aid, while 101 Republicans joined all 210 Democrats to pass a bill that would provide $300 million in assistance to the Eastern European country.
The Senate has been considering its own CR, which would fund the government for another 45 days.
The White House said that President Biden would veto the House CR.
“Hours before a Government shutdown, House Republicans are playing partisan games instead of working in a bipartisan manner to fund the Government and address emergency needs,” said the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
OMB also said that the CR would create “unnecessary delays for travelers by underfunding the Federal Aviation Administration; [a] loss of access to nutritious food for pregnant and postpartum women and children by underfunding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and [a] deterioration in service for the over 71 million Americans who rely on the income support Social Security programs provide.”
Finally, OMB called on “House Republicans to follow the Senate’s lead and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process that funds the Federal Government in a responsible manner, consistent with the bipartisan agreement earlier this year.”
Even if the House CR were to pass the lower congressional chamber, which is far from guaranteed, it would likely be dead on arrival in the Senate.
