House GOP Looking at Stopgap Spending Bill

House Republican leaders may put a stopgap spending bill on the floor as early as this month to continue government funding past Sept. 30 and avoid any threat of partial government shutdown.

Many lawmakers and Capitol Hill staff are skeptical that Congress can reach agreement on all 12 appropriations bills before the end of the year. As part of the debt-limit deal between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) earlier this year, a 1% cut would be applied across all agencies, including defense and veterans programs, if Congress can’t pass all 12 spending bills by Dec. 31.

The House is currently marking up its funding bills at about $120 billion lower than the agreed-to caps under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, while the Senate is sticking to the funding levels in the debt-limit compromise. In the House, McCarthy is having a hard time shoring up support for full-year fiscal 2024 bills from hard-right Freedom Caucus members who want deeper cuts. But deeper cuts would only widen the disparity in spending allocations with Senate appropriators.