On September 30, in a last-minute maneuver that pitted hard-right conservative House Republicans against the perceived disaster of a government shutdown, Congress approved a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) that will keep the federal government funded and operating until November 17. The CR also extends authorization and funding for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until November 17.
But the deal, brokered by then Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), cost Rep. McCarthy his Speakership. The House of Representatives is currently locked in a chamber-halting struggle to elect a new Speaker of the House. See story below for more details on this.
On September 29, the House of Representatives had defeated a hard-right continuing resolution (CR), with 21 ultra-conservative Republicans joining with all Democrats in the 198 to 232 vote. That now-dead proposal would have funded the government for 30 days at spending levels—well below the amounts agreed to in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA)—that would have resulted in 30 percent cuts to most domestic spending programs, provided for more border security, and established a commission to recommend ways to deal with the federal debt and entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
That set up an overnight crisis management exercise in the House Republican Conference. Ultimately, Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) decided to propose a six-week clean CR that adds $16 billion in disaster aid but dropped such controversial add-ons as new aid to Ukraine and border security. The CR, H.R.5860, extends authorization and funding for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until November 17.
Rep. McCarthy brought the CR to the floor under suspension of the rules—a procedure that requires a two-thirds vote of all Members present to pass a bill.
The House passed the CR by a 335 to 91 vote. The Senate followed suit several hours later, voting to pass HR 5860 by an overwhelming and bipartisan 88 to 9 vote. President Biden signed the CR into law just before midnight on September 30. Without that action, the government would have shut down on October 1.
The decision to use the suspension procedure meant Speaker McCarthy was giving up on his up-to-then dogged insistence on passing Republican-only spending legislation (i.e., bills that would garner at least 218 Republican votes). The two-thirds vote requirement of the suspension process guaranteed the need for Democratic votes to pass the measure.
H.R.5860 did get 209 Democratic votes, but only 135 Republican votes. That resulted in a near-immediate challenge to Rep. McCarthy’s Speakership. Eight hard-right Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to “vacate the chair,” i.e., ousting Rep. McCarthy from his job as Speaker of the House. The Republicans voting against Rep. McCarthy cited the fact that he relied on Democrats to pass the CR, and that he had failed to keep his promise to bring 12 separate appropriations bills to the floor under regular order. As the leader of the GOP revolt, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), phrased it, “It is time to stop governing by continuing resolution or omnibus.”
Prospects: The House has already scheduled action on more appropriations bills (four have passed the House) over the rest of October and into November. However, currently all House legislative action has been halted due to the vacancy in the Speakership.
Whether the GOP will revive its Republican-only strategy after electing its new Speaker is unclear, but seems likely. If that is the case, then prospects for those bills are murky. They contain “culture war” provisions revolving around abortion, transgender care, border security, defunding partisan political investigations, work requirements for welfare programs, and other social issues. They also contain, as currently written, deep spending cuts—far deeper than those agreed to in the FRA. It is likely the Senate would reject such bills.
Resolution of FY 2024 government funding effort is still very much in doubt. Time is short, and it is complicated by the need to elect a new Speaker of the House. We may well find ourselves on much the same or even worse brink of a government shutdown by November 16. We will keep you posted.
NAIFA Staff Contacts: Diane Boyle – Senior Vice President – Government Relations, at dboyle@naifa.org; or Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org; or Michael Hedge – Senior Director – Government Relations, at mhedge@naifa.org.