Speaker Kevin Mccarthy (R-CA) said in a Republican member-only conference call that he expects that a short-term continuing resolution will be needed in order to give the House and Senate more time to negotiate appropriation bills.
The government is set to run out of funding on Oct. 1, giving the House only 12 working days to pass their 11 remaining appropriations bills, negotiate with the Senate in conference committee and keep the government funded.
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With that unlikely to happen, McCarthy said on the call that while they have made progress in passing one appropriation bill, the military construction and veteran affairs bill, he does think a short-term continuing resolution will be necessary in order to avoid a government shutdown and ensure Republican priorities can get in the final appropriations bills.
“In any event, I do expect a short-term CR will be needed to finish all the work that we set out to do,” McCarthy said on the call.
There was a caveat that McCarthy does not want the short-term continuing resolution to push the deadline close to the holidays. He does want it to be a true short-term continuing resolution and only extend funding while lawmakers work to pass all 12 appropriations bills.
On the call, McCarthy said he talked with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) before they left for recess, where he said he wants members to sit down and negotiate the two chamber’s different appropriations bills, and he agreed.
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“I also told [Schumer], if we can get working, if he could start moving his appropriation bills, we can move ours, we can get into a conference, and if we had to do a short-term CR based upon the number of days, I do not want to do a CR that jams is up against Christmas or the holidays,” McCarthy said on the call. “Not going to do that, not going to play that game. We’re going to pass this on the merits of what’s in these bills and what the policy is. It’s just a better way to govern and a better way for all of us to achieve what America wants us to be able to achieve.”
This does pose an issue, though as members of the House Freedom Caucus have explicitly said they will not support a short-term continuing resolution and that they do not fear a government shutdown.
