House Passes Short-Term Funding Bill   09/02 06:23

   The House passed a short-term measure Tuesday to fund the federal government 
into early December, a move designed to avoid a chaotic shutdown as lawmakers 
campaign for reelection.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House passed a short-term measure Tuesday to fund the 
federal government into early December, a move designed to avoid a chaotic 
shutdown as lawmakers campaign for reelection.

   Lawmakers needed to act before the fiscal year concludes at the end of 
September to avoid a funding lapse. They were determined not to bump up against 
that deadline during the campaign season following this past year's historic 
shutdowns.

   The House passed the bill by a vote of 370-48. The Senate has already 
overwhelmingly approved the measure, so it now moves to President Donald 
Trump's desk for his signature.

   "It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the 
government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid," 
said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations 
Committee.

   A record 43-day shutdown occurred last fall when the two parties disagreed 
on renewing an expiring tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage 
obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Then came the shutdown of 
the Department of Homeland Security, which lasted 76 days before lawmakers 
agreed to fund much of the department but not its immigration enforcement 
operations.

   Lawmakers were wary of a repeat before voters go to the polls. They also 
blamed the other party for the recent impasses.

   "We're going to avoid the threat of another Democratic shutdown," House 
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in advance of the vote.

   After the vote Johnson said the House delivered, despite those who doubted 
the Republican majority would be able to push past its own divisions and rally 
support.

   "We're continuing to do the grown-up thing, get the job done," he said.

   Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, 
encouraged her Democratic colleagues to vote for the measure during a 
closed-door meeting Tuesday morning.

   She said the bill was much improved from the product that passed the House 
earlier this summer on a mostly party-line basis. For example, she said it 
prevents the Department of Homeland Security from transferring funds to the 
Border Patrol, and it delays a proposed rule that would give political 
appointees in the Trump administration more authority to stop federal grants 
from going out for programs they view as not in line with the president's 
agenda. Those changes were made when the Senate approved its version of the 
bill.

   Democrats fear the administration will use the proposed regulation on grants 
to steer money away from Democratic-led states. DeLauro called the delay an 
important first step, but said more must be done to block the policy from 
taking effect.

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

   The short-term measure funds federal agencies generally at current levels 
through Dec. 11. It will give lawmakers more time to find compromise on a 
full-year measure, though that will likely be quite difficult.

   Republicans are seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in additional 
spending for the military while cutting most non-defense programs. Democrats 
say that's a non-starter and insist on a bipartisan approach that treats 
domestic programs with parity.