House Passes Stopgap Bill, Delays Shutdown Fight

By Staff, Agencies

The US House of Representatives passed a stopgap government funding bill Tuesday, extending federal funding through December 11 and removing the immediate threat of a government shutdown ahead of the midterm elections.

The measure passed 370-48 after previously clearing the Senate and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. Known as a continuing resolution, it extends current funding into December, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate full-year appropriations after the new fiscal year begins in October.

However, 19 Republicans opposed the bill, objecting to provisions added during the Senate process. One provision temporarily blocks the White House from implementing an Office of Management and Budget rule that would give political appointees greater authority over discretionary grants.

Five Republicans, including Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Andy Harris of Maryland, also opposed a procedural rule allowing House leaders to bring other measures to the floor this week, effectively halting most legislative activity. Meanwhile, 29 Democrats voted against the continuing resolution.

The House had previously approved a different measure in July that would have funded the government through December without the additional provisions, but it failed to win Senate backing.

Instead, Senate appropriators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Patty Murray, D-Washington, drafted their own continuing resolution, which passed the Senate 90-6 in a bipartisan vote.

House Republican leaders brought the Senate-approved measure to the floor Tuesday under a “suspension of the rules,” a fast-track procedure that barred amendments and required a two-thirds majority.

Roy and Harris argued that the legislation should first have gone through the Rules Committee, allowing lawmakers to propose amendments. Roy said the Senate had added “a whole bunch of stuff” that could have been addressed through amendments or a clean continuing resolution.

At the same time, the two lawmakers objected to a provision delaying implementation of a new rule that would classify some hemp products as marijuana.

Several Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina, attempted to remove the provision before the Senate vote but failed.

Opponents of the delay argued that intoxicating hemp products are contributing to a health crisis among children. Harris said lawmakers “have to stop poisoning our children with intoxicating hemp products” and should not extend the delay.

Nevertheless, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, said avoiding a shutdown outweighed objections to the Senate-added provisions. Although he acknowledged concerns over the OMB rule and hemp reclassification, Scalise said preventing a government shutdown was “much more important for the country.”

Democrats, meanwhile, backed the temporary block on the OMB grant rule. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, praised the added measures.

The proposed OMB rule would require political appointees to review grants before they are awarded, ostensibly to advance the president’s priorities and block projects opposed by the administration. Critics say the change would weaken independent peer review and threaten funding for key programs, including scientific research.

Ultimately, the continuing resolution gives lawmakers until December 11 to resolve broader funding disputes, pushing the possibility of another major government funding battle beyond the midterm elections.