“This legislation ensures that no American will lose access to vital services while we complete negotiations” on broader funding discussions, the House Rules Chairman said. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).
Ahead of the vote, McGovern excoriated Republicans for opposing the stopgap as Hurricane Ian tore through Florida. Although the bill does not specifically include funding for recovery from this storm, it does contain billions of dollars for states dealing with natural disasters across the country, in addition to additional flexibility to spend the disaster relief.
“Don’t vote against additional funding to help people recover from hurricane damage,” McGovern said. “Please especially my Florida Republican friends. A vote against it [bill] is a vote against funding hurricane recovery assistance in your own state.
The top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Kay Granger, who helped negotiate the bill, joined the band of GOP members who opposed it. Asked if she could explain why she voted against it, the Texas lawmaker replied on Friday: “No, I can’t.”
Chairman of House Credits Rosa DeLauro said congressional leaders may also need to consider additional funding for disaster relief before the end of the year.
“We’ll see. We’re trying to be very responsive to the needs of Alaska, Puerto Rico and Florida,” the Connecticut Democrat said.
“Look, I remember Hurricane Sandy and what happened to my state,” DeLauro said of the 2012 storm that hit the East Coast. “We waited seven or eight months to be relieved. We shouldn’t take people hostage. It’s too important.
Republican meaning. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida are already asking owners of mount a help package for the state “at the first opportunity”, noting that Hurricane Ian “will be remembered and studied as one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the United States”.
The vote is one of the last acts of the House before it leaves town until the Nov. 8 midterms. And negotiations on the full-year funding measure are unlikely to fully begin before this election.
Some House Republicans – mostly conservatives aligned with the House Freedom Caucus – have vowed to reject any spending package that meets before December, assuming their party takes over the House next year and gains more influence. in financing negotiations. They plan to push for the restoration of Trump-era spending levels.
But the President of the Senate Appropriations Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) And his GOP counterpart, the senator. Richard Shelby of Alabama, are retiring at the end of this year – increasing pressure for a final deal between the two longtime owners.
“Part of that will depend on the election,” the senator said. John Boozman of Arkansas, the GOP’s lead owner in the spending subgroup that deals with veterans affairs, of a year-end spending agreement.
“I know Senator Shelby and Leahy both want this to happen,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s more pressure, but they’re just two people who are used to being doers and working hard to get deals done.”
In a speech on the floor Thursday, Leahy said the stopgap was “just a temporary measure,” stressing he wanted a deal before the end of the 117th Congress.
“Running autopilot after December with rising inflation would be irresponsible,” he said. “That would leave the priorities of both Republicans and Democrats underfunded and underfunded.”
Congress is not expected to return until mid-November. Before leaving on Thursday, the Senate Majority Leader chuck schumer warned: “Members must be prepared for an extremely – I emphasize extremely – busy agenda over the last two months of this Congress.
Bipartisan talks over spending in both chambers have yet to begin in earnest. Democrats are more likely to reach a deal before the end of the year, as they still hold majorities in both houses, albeit slim ones. Shelby said credits staff are communicating, but negotiations likely won’t heat up until the mid-terms are in rear view.
“They’re working all the time and you know, they’re going backstage here and there,” Shelby said. “It’s two steps forward, three steps back, to the side, you know.”
The interim financing measure provides more than $12 billion to Ukraine to maintain its momentum in the fight against Russian attacks. The bill also includes $1 billion in heating assistance for low-income families, $20 million for the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, billions in disaster relief and over $112 million for federal court security.
The bill includes a five-year reauthorization of user fee programs that fund much of the FDA’s work, plus additional flexibility for FEMA to spend at a higher rate through Disaster. ReliefFund. That fund currently has about $15 billion at its disposal as federal authorities race to respond to the devastating hurricanes that hit Florida and Puerto Rico.
Sarah Ferris and Alex Daugherty contributed to this report.