The House easily passes the spending package as lawmakers work to avoid another shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a bipartisan package of three spending bills Thursday that would fund parts of the federal government through September, showing lawmakers are eager to avoid another government shutdown near the end of the month.

Congress has so far approved only three of 12 annual spending bills to fund federal agencies for the current fiscal year. Failure to pass the rest before the Jan. 30 deadline threatens another shutdown just weeks after the record 43-day shutdown that occurred late last year.

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Leaders of both parties have backed the latest measure, suggesting its passage is likely in the Senate as well, belatedly bringing Congress halfway to completing its work on this year’s spending bills. The White House also supported the measure, calling it a “fiscally responsible bill.”

The package covers agencies such as the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Departments of Commerce and Justice. It passed by an overwhelming vote of 397 to 28, an extraordinary show of unity when it comes to government spending.

Both sides claim victories

GOP lawmakers said the cost of the bills, which Republicans have set at about $175 billion, comes in below current levels, generating savings for taxpayers. Democrats countered that they were able to negotiate much higher spending levels than the Trump administration requested and removed dozens of policy riders they say would have weakened gun safety regulations, expanded oil and gas leasing on federal lands and targeted LGBTQ policies and racial equality.

More importantly, Democrats said, the measure also includes legally binding spending requirements that limit the White House’s ability to withhold or delay money for programs Trump opposes. Trump’s first year in office was met with dozens of lawsuits from states, cities and nonprofits that accused the administration of illegal power grabs.

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“This legislation represents a strong rejection of the tough cuts to public services proposed by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

The Senate will also have to pass the measure before President Donald Trump can sign it into law. But the bill has bipartisan support in that chamber as well.

“Republicans are stronger when we stay focused, Democrats are more effective when they negotiate in good faith, and the country is better off when Republicans and Democrats work together,” said Rep. Tom Cole, Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, urging his colleagues to vote for the bill.

Finance work is well behind schedule

In recent years, Congress has generally bundled all spending bills into one or two measures, often given votes before lawmakers leave Washington for the holidays. Lawmakers say such a process makes it easier to include provisions that cannot be mustered on their own.

Johnson called for a return to a time when Congress takes up the 12 spending bills separately, although he finds that easier said than done. The fiscal year began on October 1, and Congress is still debating full-year funding for most federal agencies.

Democrats listed various priorities for which they were able to maintain or increase funding, despite administration opposition. For example, a program to make homes more energy efficient for low-income Americans got a $3 million boost, rather than being eliminated as Trump had proposed. The Environmental Protection Agency, a frequent target of Trump, gets $8.8 billion. This is more than double what Trump sought.

Republicans had expressed concerns about some of the provisions in the bill, which is now called Community Finance Projects. To ease those concerns, a nearly $1.5 million earmark obtained by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was removed from the bill. It would have funded the efforts of a Somali-led organization to provide job training and peer support services to those struggling with addiction.

Republicans have focused extensively on allegations of fraud at day care centers run by Somali residents. These allegations are still under investigation. Omar urged people not to blame an entire community for the actions of a relatively small number.