House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is done with short-term continuing resolutions—after this one.
Mr. Johnson defended his decision to present a “laddered” stopgap spending bill as both a useful innovation and a last resort in a Nov. 14 press conference held just ahead of a House debate on the measure.
“This was a very important first step to ... change how Washington works,” Mr. Johnson said. “I think every member in that room agrees that that’s an important innovation, and it changes the way things are done.”
Moments later, the speaker said he would never use that tool again.
“The House Republican Conference is committed to never being in this situation again. I’m done with short-term CRs,” Mr. Johnson said.
The speaker, who assumed office on Oct. 25 amid a legislative battle over federal funding, began barely three weeks before a looming government shutdown on Nov. 17 and with just four of the 12 required spending bills having passed the House.
The previous speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had been ousted three weeks earlier after passing a short-term continuing resolution (CR) on Sept. 25, angering fiscal hawks.
Mr. Johnson quickly proposed the laddered CR as a compromise solution to allow the government to function into the new year while Congress continues to work on 2024 spending bills.
Promise of Change
Knowing that a number of House Republicans oppose the novel approach, Mr. Johnson vowed that it would be the last time such a vehicle would be used under his leadership.“We are resolved,” Mr. Johnson said. “At the beginning of this next year, we'll be walking and chewing gum at the same time. We’re going to get the appropriations process running on time as it’s supposed to be under law.”
The Budget Control Act of 1974 stipulates the process for creating an annual federal budget and passing the 12 spending bills. The result should be that both a budget and funding plan are in place by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Congress has followed that process only four times in the past 50 years, usually resorting to short-term CRs to continue the previous year’s funding to avoid a government shutdown. Most often, the next year’s spending is approved in one large bill called an omnibus.
Fiscal conservatives railed against that practice because it deprives rank-and-file members of Congress from having a say in drafting or amending the spending package, which perpetuates overspending.
GOP Members React
Many have also objected to the laddered CR proposed by Mr. Johnson.“The House Freedom Caucus opposes the proposed ‘clean’ Continuing Resolution as it contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People,” the statement said. “While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change.”
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, the largest House caucus, said he plans to oppose the bill because it doesn’t include spending cuts already agreed to by both houses of Congress.
“We passed the [Fiscal Responsibility Act] back in May that had spending cuts. We need to get to those cuts,” Mr. Hern told reporters on Nov. 14.
Other members, like Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) are supporting the measure as a commonsense solution that will provide better results than hurried votes on individual bills. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We need the time ... to do it right, rather than just jamming something through that we'll regret down the road,” he told reporters on Nov. 14.
The House is scheduled to vote on the stopgap funding bill at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 14.
