Democratic lawmakers are testing the limits of their power when it comes to helping House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) avert a government shutdown.
Every year, just before Christmas, both sides of the aisle engage in an obligatory holiday battle over the federal government’s annual spending bill, which must be passed by Dec. 20 to avoid a government shutdown.
With Johnson looking to punt long-range spending priorities until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January 2025, he is leading the House in eying a short-term spending bill that funds the government until March 2025.
Because hard-line fiscal conservatives in his conference typically eschew the stopgap funding measure, Johnson will likely need all Democratic hands on deck to pass the short-term spending bill, also known as a continuing resolution. While Democrats aren’t interested in a knock-down drag-out fight that could risk a government shutdown, they aren’t willing to fold to every demand Republicans have, either, according to Politico.
While the soft deadline for releasing the spending bill’s text is Dec. 15, Democratic negotiators in the lower chamber have yet to reveal key details about the cost of provisions they want to see in stopgap legislation.
Democrats’ primary goal is to include the Biden administration’s recent request for roughly $100 billion in disaster relief funding in the spending bill. Their efforts have come as some Republicans have suggested disaster relief funding levels should be much less than the $100 billion figure.
When pressed on Monday for the status of negotiations, Democrats declined to disclose details, per the outlet.
“There’s not been any real hard and fast debates about what’s there, because the issue is, we got to get to a top line, and then we can start to go forward,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told the Hill recently.
In the wake of wildfires and the devastating Hurricane Helene, the White House wants $40 billion to refill the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s coffers, which officials warn have been depleted in recent months. The remainder of the funding will go to priorities, including housing support, nutrition assistance, and improvements to water systems.
Some Republicans are criticizing the Biden administration for including funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as for the departments of State and Education, in the disaster relief proposal.
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of fiscally conservative hard-liners, has rebelled against the White House’s request.
“Congress should not pass a whopping $100 billion unpaid disaster supplemental funding bill — that Democrats will use to cement their own unrelated priorities — in the waning days of Democrat control in Washington right before Republicans take control of the White House and both Chambers,” the caucus said in a statement.
“The House should consider only what is absolutely necessary right now to provide critical relief to hurricane victims and farmers, and pay for it with offsets from wasteful spending elsewhere in the government, then wait for President Trump to take office to better manage disaster relief,” the group continued.
As the top House Republican, Johnson has the difficult job of holding his slim majority together while mustering enough Democratic votes to pass legislation possibly opposed by disaffected members of his conference.
During comments on Dec. 3, Johnson didn’t divulge details about the disaster relief funding levels he was working toward.
“It’s serious, serious damage. But the initial request was $116.5 billion. And what we’re doing right now is the important, methodical job that the House has, to go through really line by line and assess those requests and make sure that they all are actually tied to disaster and not superfluous items and issues that are included,” the speaker said.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said last week that the Biden administration’s $100 billion disaster relief proposal was “robust.”
“I’ve said before, they’re very robust. I think they should be. I think we have real disaster,” he said.
Although Cole added that he is not “interested in extra money for programs that are not disaster-related, and there’s some of that in the president’s proposal,” his latest comments on Monday suggest he’s now on board with the White House’s request.
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“As Members of Congress, we must again step up to the plate and pass disaster recovery aid for those across our country who are still in need,” Cole said in a press release.
“As disaster relief negotiations are currently underway, I want to make one promise to the American people — I will do everything in my power to ensure that we, as a Congress, are supporting the families, businesses, and local communities that have been crushed. Moreover, as Representatives, our duty is to the People who elected us, and I believe passing a disaster aid bill is central to this duty,” he added.
