US lawmakers to avert shutdown with vote on eve of major Biden speech
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is walking a tightrope between moderate and hard-line Republicans
Washington – US lawmakers were set to vote Wednesday to end a long-running row over the federal budget with a giant bill to fund several major federal agencies through the fall, averting a partial shutdown due to start at the weekend.
The vote comes on the eve of President Joe Biden’s annual State of the Union address, with the Democrat preparing to deliver a career-defining speech as he bids for a second term against his Republican rival, Donald Trump.
Biden is expected to tout his “historic” accomplishments in a speech in the House of Representatives, which has been paralyzed for much of the current term by infighting among Republican factions over government spending and aid to war-torn Ukraine.
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress still has not approved the 12 annual spending bills that make up the federal budget, with several departments facing deadlines of midnight on Friday night to keep the lights on.
The Republican-led House will vote in the afternoon on a $460 billion package — thrashed out over months of intense bipartisan negotiations — that would keep them open until the end of the fiscal year, on September 30.
The bill — funding the departments of agriculture, interior, transport, housing, veterans affairs, justice, commerce and energy — is expected to get the required two-thirds majority, setting up Senate passage before the weekend.
But it covers less than a third of overall discretionary spending, and some of the most contentious battles have been put off for a second bill that needs to get to Biden’s desk by March 22.
Without a resolution, cash would run out for the military, Justice Department, border security, Congress, and many other federal departments and agencies.
– ‘Policy victories’ –
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is struggling to control a narrow majority and walking a tightrope between the demands of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the more moderate Senate.
“House Republicans secured key conservative policy victories, rejected left-wing proposals, and imposed sharp cuts to agencies and programs critical to President Biden’s agenda,” Johnson said in a statement.
Each side touted wins, although figures on the Republican right have voiced frustration that the deal contains none of the steep cuts they have demanded.
The agreement adds $1 billion for a federal nutritional program for low-income mothers and their babies, a key Democratic funding priority, increases rental assistance and boosts spending on veterans.
But there are cuts of between six and 10 percent for regulatory and law enforcement agencies regularly in Republican crosshairs, including the FBI, Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Johnson has a two-vote majority and needs Democrats to get any contentious legislation over the line.
Most right-wing policy riders were dropped from the bill, meaning it is unlikely to get much support from conservatives, although Republican leaders still expect it to pass.