House Republicans reached an agreement on a stopgap funding bill that was published by the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday night. The proposal is a Continuing Resolution (CR), a stopgap measure that will extend federal funding until January 19, 2018, and avoid a government shutdown on December 22.
The appropriations package does not include disaster relief for regions recovering from wildfires or hurricanes, an omission that is sure to cost Republicans votes on the floor. Members from Texas and Florida are meeting as a bipartisan coalition and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) claims they’re not voting for a CR without aid for their states. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed there is “a little more work” to be done for disaster aid before the end of the year.
If the CR, introduced by House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), manages to pass the House it is expected to meet opposition from Senate Democrats. Appropriations measures do not fall within the scope of the “Bird Rule,” which allows Senate Republicans to pass a tax reform bill with a simple majority, therefore Republicans will need at least eight Democratic votes to reach the required 60-vote threshold. This threshold gives Democrats more leverage in budget negotiations than tax reform or health care, which is how Democrats are able to demand reforms for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
After the CR proposal was announced, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) told reporters “the House bill is not going to pass over here,” therefore Senate Republicans will choose to submit their own stopgap proposal. Republicans are anticipating Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Cornyn (R-TX) will add a disaster relief package to the Senate CR proposal.