The funding bill would avoid a looming partial government shutdown slated to take effect October 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Extending the date to November 21, notably the week before the Thanksgiving holidays, congressional legislators are claiming the extra seven weeks will give them time to come to a deal on funding portions of the federal government.
Within the Texas delegation, two Democrats — Reps. Vicente González (D-TX-15) and Filemon Vela (D-TX-34) — joined 14 Republicans voting against the measure.
The Republicans who opposed the measure were Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX-36), Michael Burgess (R-TX-26), Michael Cloud (R-TX-27), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02), Louie Gohmert (R-TX-01), Lance Gooden (R-TX-05), Kenny Marchant (R-TX-24), John Ratcliffe (R-TX-04), Chip Roy (R-TX-21), Van Taylor (R-TX-03), Mac Thornberry (R-TX-13), Randy Weber (R-TX-14), Roger Williams (R-TX-25), and Ron Wright (R-TX-06).
Stakeholders expect it to pass the Senate, but Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to renegotiate the deal.
At the center of the relative impasse thus far is the border wall.
Senate Democrats voiced their concern that the proposal “steals $5 billion” from the Health and Human Services Department for the wall.
Schumer also wants certain 302(b) spending areas, as he sees it, better addressed.
According to Schumer, this includes, “the health of our veterans, funding critical science and technology initiatives, the education of our children, and the safety of our communities.”
McConnell responded, saying, “Whatever rationale my colleagues across the aisle may offer for these new disruptions, let’s get one thing straight: holding defense funding hostage for political gain is a losing strategy.”
Among the many aspects of this broader spending agreement is the $738-$750 billion NDAA bill that would authorize funding for national defense. After being passed by the House and Senate, it now must be reconciled in conference.
Last year, the border wall standoff resulted in a 35-day partial government shutdown.
It ended when President Trump agreed to reopen the government without obtaining border wall funding.
The continuing resolution now moves to the Senate where it must be approved before the October 1 deadline.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
