House passes short-term spending bill, avoiding another shutdown fight during midterms

The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to keep the federal government open through Dec. 11, moving to avoid another shutdown as lawmakers campaign for reelection. The measure passed 370-48, and the Senate has already approved it, leaving President Donald Trump to sign it into law.

The vote came before the fiscal year ends in September, a deadline lawmakers did not want to confront during the campaign season. Last fall, disagreements over an expiring Affordable Care Act tax credit helped produce a record 43-day shutdown. A later shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security lasted 76 days before Congress funded much of the department but excluded its immigration enforcement operations.

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It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid.

Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for those impasses. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the measure would avoid “the threat of another Democratic shutdown.” Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said it would give the country and federal employees certainty that the government would stay open and service members would be paid.

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We're going to avoid the threat of another Democratic shutdown.

Democratic support followed changes made when the Senate approved its version. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the bill prevents the Department of Homeland Security from transferring funds to the Border Patrol. It also delays a proposed rule that would give Trump administration political appointees more authority to block federal grants they view as inconsistent with the president’s agenda.

Democrats worry the grant policy could steer money away from states led by their party. DeLauro called the delay an important first step but said more action would be needed. “Whether a community receives disaster relief should not depend on who they voted for in the last election,” she said. The short-term bill gives lawmakers additional time to negotiate full-year funding, a compromise that the article says will likely be difficult.

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Whether a community receives disaster relief should not depend on who they voted for in the last election.