President Donald Trump has signed legislation temporarily funding the federal government and removing the threat of a shutdown just weeks before voters head to the polls in the midterm elections.
But the overwhelming bipartisan agreement does not settle Washington’s larger spending dispute, instead moving the next deadline into the politically volatile weeks between Election Day and Christmas.
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The House approved the continuing resolution Thursday by a decisive 370-48 vote after the Senate had already passed the legislation 90-6 in August.
Trump has now signed the measure, ensuring federal agencies will remain funded beyond the September 30 expiration of current appropriations.
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The legislation keeps the government funded through December 11, effectively postponing the next major spending confrontation until after the November 3 elections.
Nineteen Republicans and 29 Democrats opposed the measure in the House, but leaders from both parties ultimately assembled more than enough votes to send it to the White House.
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House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole acknowledged during debate that the Senate had altered the version previously approved by the House and said lawmakers were accepting those compromises in order to gain additional negotiating time.
“When we passed our continuing resolution over here, we knew it would change when it got to the Senate,” Cole said, adding that lawmakers had “bought the time that we need to get through the election cycle” and potentially reach broader agreements afterward.
The temporary extension arrives as Congress remains far from completing its regular appropriations work, leaving lawmakers with another significant funding deadline little more than five weeks after Election Day.
The stopgap measure largely maintains existing spending levels while making several targeted adjustments, including additional funding for programs such as disaster relief and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
House Democrats broadly supported the legislation after senior Democratic appropriator Rosa DeLauro endorsed the Senate-negotiated package, helping produce the unusually lopsided final vote.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., nevertheless criticized Congress for resorting to another continuing resolution despite having most of September available to continue negotiating full-year spending legislation.
“It is not a good way to run our federal government,” Lieu said while explaining that he would still support the bill because it was the only viable option presented to lawmakers.
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Republican conservatives also objected to several provisions the Senate added to the legislation, particularly language delaying implementation of restrictions affecting intoxicating hemp products and temporarily blocking a proposed White House budget rule governing federal grants.
The grant provision temporarily prevents the Office of Management and Budget from implementing proposed changes that would give political appointees a greater role in reviewing federal grant awards, a policy the administration has argued would help align spending with presidential priorities.
Critics of that proposal have argued that greater political review could interfere with independent grant-making processes, while administration supporters contend elected presidents should have greater control over how executive agencies distribute taxpayer money.
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The hemp provision drew particularly vocal objections from members of the House Freedom Caucus, including Republican Reps. Andy Harris of Maryland and Chip Roy of Texas, who argued that lawmakers should not delay restrictions targeting intoxicating hemp products.
Despite those disagreements, Republican leaders argued that preventing another funding lapse outweighed their objections to individual provisions contained in the Senate-amended package.
The political incentive for avoiding a September shutdown was substantial, with lawmakers of both parties facing voters only weeks later and little appetite for another disruption to federal services and employee paychecks.
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The new December 11 deadline, however, means the same fundamental spending disagreements will return during a lame-duck congressional session shaped heavily by the results of the midterm elections, The Guardian reported.
If control of either chamber changes hands, lawmakers could face intense pressure to finish major appropriations legislation before the newly elected Congress takes office, while an unchanged balance of power could increase the temptation to approve another temporary extension.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
