As Friday’s shutdown deadline looms over Congress, the House overwhelmingly passed a two-step temporary-funding bill on Tuesday that can partially fund the federal government through the beginning months of 2024.
The stopgap bill was met with more than two-thirds support from 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans, with a final tally of 336–95. Only two Democrats — Representatives Jake Auchincloss (Mass.) and Mike Quigley (Ill.) — and a substantial 93 Republicans dissented from their political parties. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass.
The latest continuing resolution, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) proposed over the weekend, provides funding for some federal agencies until mid-January and others through early February, keeping different parts of the government functioning until then. The Democratic-controlled Senate must pass the legislation, and President Joe Biden must sign it into law by 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to avert a potential fourth shutdown in a decade.
The legislation, which does not include any aid for Israel or Ukraine in their respective wars, extends the deadline for four appropriations bills to January 19 and the eight remaining bills to February 2, giving Congress ample time to pass the dozen spending bills.
House Democrats said on Tuesday morning that they would support the continuing resolution, considering it keeps spending at current levels without including deep cuts that many conservatives have pushed for. While a majority of Republicans voted for it, the House Freedom Caucus expressed direct opposition to the short-term-funding bill because it lacks those spending cuts and other items.
“The House Freedom Caucus opposes the proposed ‘clean’ Continuing Resolution as it contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People,” the GOP congressional caucus said in a statement posted on X. “Republicans must stop negotiating against ourselves over fears of what the Senate may do with the promise ‘roll over today and we’ll fight tomorrow.'”
“While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change,” the statement adds. This is Johnson’s first major legislation since he took the gavel late last month after Representative Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was ousted from the speakership.
The prior, 45-day continuing resolution was passed and approved at the end of September, just before fiscal year 2024 began.