The Senate failed to pass a procedural vote on Wednesday on a spending measure funding the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs and military construction for next year on Wednesday, after top Republicans voted against the measure in an effort to buy more time to strike a deal.
The vote came down largely along party lines, with Republicans voting against limiting debate on an effort to change Senate rules to keep the minibus together, in an effort to get everyone on board with the process before moving forward with amendments.
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The vote to limit debate required 60 votes to pass. Instead 49 senators voted yes and 48 voted no.
The latest action in the Senate comes a day after Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said he would drop his objection to combining the three appropriations bills if he is guaranteed a vote on legislation to stop government shutdowns during the amendment process. So far, an official deal has not emerged, although senators are still working to come to a resolution.
Johnson’s bill, introduced with Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) at the beginning of the year, “would implement an automatic continuing resolution, on rolling 14-day periods, based on current spending levels enacted in the previous fiscal year,” if there is a funding lapse.
Last week, Johnson demanded the Senate take up each appropriations bill one by one, which has held up the process, emphasizing that combining the bills could weaken the influence conservatives could have over the spending bills. In response to Johnson’s blockade, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, moved to suspend Senate rules on Monday to bypass Johnson’s objections.
“I have heard the complaints from the very small handful of members who are trying to derail this process,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, ahead of the Senate vote on Wednesday. “I have not heard any realistic alternatives from them for us to pass the Senate’s funding priorities in a more open and bipartisan process than what the Senior Senator from Maine and I have worked so hard to provide.”
Lawmakers in both houses have a deadline of Sept. 30 to pass some form of funding or the government will shut down.
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If a potential compromise emerges, it would mean the Senate would not have to vote this week on suspending the rules, which would have required the unanimous consent of 67 senators in order to pass.
Last week, by a vote of 85-12, the Senate took the first procedural hurdle in passing the legislation. The 12 senators who voted no were all Republicans. Ahead of the August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved all 12 bills in line with the caps laid out in the debt ceiling deal negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The agreement limits overall national security spending in fiscal 2024 to $886 billion, which is roughly a 3% increase from current levels. In fiscal 2025, defense spending would be capped at $895 billion, a 1% increase from the previous year.