House GOP approves first government funding bill amid intense spending fight

House Republicans on Thursday passed their first government funding bill, overcoming an initial hurdle in Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) attempts to wrangle the GOP conference to approve all 12 appropriations bills amid intense pressure from conservatives to lower spending levels.

The bill — which allocates funding for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and related agencies — passed in a 219-211 vote. Two Republicans — Reps. Tim Burchett (Tenn.) and Ken Buck (Colo.) — voted with every Democrat against the measure.

The package now heads to the Senate, where it is dead on arrival. Senate appropriators are marking up their spending bills at levels different from the House GOP measures, setting the scene for a chamber vs. chamber showdown in the fall.

Lawmakers have until Sept. 30 to send President Biden legislation to fund the government or risk a shutdown.

In an effort to appease conservatives, House GOP appropriations marked up their spending bills at fiscal 2022 levels, below the caps set in the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and McCarthy. The Senate, on the other hand, is considering its appropriations measures at levels in line with the debt limit agreement.

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Republicans have also pursued amendments Democrats have blasted as “poison pills” in the military construction bill and the other 12 annual funding bills, including policies targeting the Biden administration’s orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as restricting abortion access.

While Republican leaders saw success Thursday in mustering enough support to pass the Milcon-VA bill, they were also forced to punt consideration of another appropriations bill amid internal divisions over spending and a controversial provision.

The chamber was scheduled to vote on funding legislation for agriculture, rural development and the Food and Drug Administration this week, but party leaders scrapped those plans Thursday afternoon as disagreements continued to plague the measure’s passage.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) announced on the floor Thursday that the final votes this week would be in the afternoon.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., joined at right by Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., arrives for a news conference after a meeting of the Republican Conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Conservatives are pushing for steeper funding cuts in the legislation, and moderates are opposed to a provision that would nullify a Biden administration rule allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be sold in retail pharmacies and by mail with prescriptions from a certified health care provider.

On the Milcon-VA bill, GOP negotiators proposed more than $317 billion in funding, which includes increases for the VA above current levels. The bill also calls for more than $130 billion for veterans’ medical care and a boost for Department of Defense military construction projects.

In a statement earlier this week, the White House said it appreciates the $121 billion in funding that appropriators proposed for VA medical care. The Biden administration said the funding would help support its priorities to end veteran homelessness and expand access to mental health care, among other measures.

But the administration did not hold back its criticism of policies in the bill it said would prevent VA medical centers from being able to perform abortions or “provide hormone therapies for the purpose of gender-affirming care.”

Other measures the White House criticized include sections Democrats say would prevent the VA from displaying LGBTQ pride flags and language that would limit administration efforts to advance equity and diversity. 

Burchett, one of the two Republicans to vote against the Milcon-VA appropriations bill, pointed to the ballooning debt in the U.S. in explaining his opposition to the legislation.

“Love the veterans: daddy fought for his country, my momma lost a brother fighting the Nazis, dad fought the Japanese, my momma flew an airplane during the Second World War, but we are $32 trillion in debt,” he said.

Republicans are expected to ramp up efforts to pass the remaining funding bills when they return from recess in September. But the House faces a serious time crunch, with the chamber scheduled to have just 12 legislative days on the calendar before a shutdown deadline at the end of September. 

Scalise suggested Tuesday that bicameral negotiations could take place over the long August recess, but negotiators haven’t signaled any bipartisan talks are scheduled to happen before lawmakers are set to come back.

Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said on Tuesday that the Four Corners — the top leaders of both chambers’ respective appropriations committees — haven’t recently had formal talks, but her “goal is to have conferences.”

She told reporters she’s hopeful the Senate will begin bringing its appropriations bills to the floor “at the very first week in September.”

“I believe we should do everything to avoid a shutdown,” she said.

Updated at 6:42 p.m.