Punts on another funding bill

House punts another funding bill as Johnson’s legislative mojo wanes 

The financial services bill is the latest on ice as the new speaker tries to complete passage of the 12 annual funding bills before the Nov. 17 government shutdown deadline.

By JENNIFER SCHOLTES, CAITLIN EMMA and JORDAIN CARNEY11/09/2023, 11:09AM ET

House Republicans pulled a floor vote on another one of their government funding bills on Thursday, the latest sign of Speaker Mike Johnson’s legislative troubles as he navigates the same disputes that vexed his predecessor.

After voting on dozens of amendments to the measure, GOP leaders again punted on one of the 12 funding bills that Johnson vowed to complete before the Nov. 17 government shutdown deadline. With eight days until federal funding expires, the House is adjourning for Veterans’ Day weekend — stunted once more by the ongoing Republican tug of war over how deeply to cut spending and whether to wade into controversial debates like a person’s right to use birth control without losing their job.

The bill that funds the judiciary branch, Treasury Department and IRS is the latest victim after the House spent Wednesday working through debate on a stack of more than 100 amendments to the measure. The bill is among the least controversial of the dozen measures that House Republicans have crafted for the current fiscal year.

But some GOP lawmakers have taken issue with its language blocking a District of Columbia law that prevents employers from discriminating against workers who seek contraception or family planning services.

New York Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro said he would oppose the bill if it continues to block the D.C. policy, estimating that about eight GOP lawmakers side with him. "I think there's an understanding that we feel strongly about it,” Molinaro said Wednesday, after he and other Republicans digging in against the provision met with GOP leaders.

Lawmakers “need to take stock,” Molinaro added, and understand that following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, "the American people want every level of government to more appropriately respect the difficult choices women have to make."

The bill also got bogged down over a Republican bid to block the General Services Administration from spending any money to buy property for a new FBI headquarters. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) offered an amendment to that end, which failed 145-273.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry said Thursday that he would have voted against the funding bill. “Too many amendments failed. The bill’s not very good,” the Pennsylvania Republican said.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) had contended Wednesday that the measure wasn’t facing significant problems. Emmer argued that GOP leaders are making progress and plowing forward with their fiscal 2024 funding bills.

“Nothing is in trouble,” he said. “We’re just working through bills and we’re going to get [Financial Services] passed.”

He added: “There are concerns that have to be addressed and as they're being addressed, the bills are actually getting better.”

Earlier in the week, before House Republicans punted on their financial services and judicial funding bill, they scrapped plans to pass their measure to fund transportation and housing programs. Action on that was first delayed last week amid opposition from Northeastern Republicans who voiced concern about more than $1 billion in proposed cuts to Amtrak.

Such smaller-scale disputes illustrate the breadth of Johnson’s challenge in trying to pass the full slate of a dozen funding bills this month. He pursued that tack after conservatives who ousted Kevin McCarthy from the speakership cited inaction on spending measures among their qualms with the California Republican’s leadership.

With only a four-vote majority, GOP leaders must win near-unified support to pass any of their spending measures. They can rely on no Democratic support, having stiff-armed the opposing party by including divisive policy riders and writing bills with billions of dollars in cuts below the levels set in this summer’s bipartisan debt-limit deal.

Moderate House Republicans are bristling at the prospect of voting for the party’s remaining funding bills, many of which are highly polarizing – considering that whatever emerges at the end of negotiations with the Democrat-led Senate and White House will be far less conservative.

“What bothers us with the [spending bills] that are left … is that they’ll never look like that when they’re done. So they make us take votes that don’t make sense, right?” said Rep. Don Bacon, a moderate from Nebraska.

Forcing centrists to vote on the remaining spending bills is “not being conscientious” to GOP members who represent districts Biden won, Bacon added.

By the end of his first full week as speaker, Johnson had passed three of the 12 annual spending bills, which would fund the government for the fiscal year that kicked off on Oct. 1. With four already passed on McCarthy’s watch, the House has five left to go, including politically sticky bills like the one that funds schools, health efforts and workforce programs.

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, a top GOP appropriator, said the financial services spending bill could still pass in the coming weeks. “It just takes some time to work it out,” Simpson said.