With a government shutdown looming, Republicans looking to get funding bills passed in the House of Representatives are already feeling pushback from the White House which is threatening to stall progress.
If two of the appropriations bills expected to come up for a vote this week somehow make it through the GOP-led House and then the Senate, they will hit a wall when reaching President Joe Biden’s desk.
The administration threatened vetoes of HR 4821 and HR 4820, bills affecting the Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies, actively enabling a potential government shutdown by only allowing legislation that is “bipartisan.”
“The House bills would cut Department of Transportation funding by $7 billion compared to fiscal 2023 levels, $1.2 billion from HUD funding compared to 2023 levels, and nearly $4 billion from EPA funding compared to 2023 levels,” The Hill reported.
In a statement issued Monday, the Office of Management and Budget criticized Republicans and claimed the bills would violate the agreement President Joe Biden made with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the summer.
“House Republicans had an opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process, but instead are wasting time with partisan bills that cut domestic spending to levels well below the [Fiscal Responsibility Act] agreement and endanger critical services for the American people,” the White House said. “These levels would result in deep cuts to clean energy programs and other programs that work to combat climate change, essential nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, education, and healthcare.”
“These bills include billions in additional rescissions from the IRA and other vital legislation that would result in unacceptable harm to clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives that lower energy costs and other critical investments in rural America,” the statement continued before fear-mongering on the other effects of the bills.
“The draft bills also include numerous new, partisan policy provisions with devastating consequences including harming access to reproductive healthcare, threatening the health and safety of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Americans, endangering marriage equality, hindering critical climate change initiatives, and preventing the Administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion,” it added.
The White House also noted that the Biden administration “stands ready to engage with both chambers of the Congress in a bipartisan appropriations process to enact responsible spending bills that fully fund Federal agencies in a timely manner.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) who was just voted into the office after the seat remained vacant in the wake of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, met with Biden to discuss the funding as well as aid to Israel and Ukraine.
The appropriations deadline was moved to Nov. 17 after a near-shutdown in September while McCarthy was speaker. Johnson would like to avoid a repeat.
“If indeed we come to Nov. 17 and we’re unable to finish that because it’s detailed work and it takes some time, we’ll look at another stopgap measure,” he said Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“But I think everyone will be on board with that because they understand we’re really doing this work. If we run out of time on the calendar, we may need a little bit more to complete it,” he added.
WATCH: New House Speaker Rep Mike Johnson tells Fox News that avoiding a shutdown is his top priority in the role pic.twitter.com/tVuZu6C88U
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) October 30, 2023
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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