WASHINGTON (AP) — The House moved Tuesday to head-off a potential government shutdown before this fall's critical midterm elections by passing a bill to fund the federal government through Dec. 4.
The deadline for action is more than two months away, but House GOP leaders are not leaving to chance another possible shutdown souring the mood of voters shortly before they go to the polls. House Speaker Mike Johnson dared Democrats to vote against the bill, and if they did, "then they alone are going to own the chaos that ensues if the government shuts down after September 30."
The House passed the measure by a mostly party-line vote of 220-205.
It's highly unusual for Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill months before the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers normally act just days or even hours before the deadline. But once lawmakers leave town this week, the House is scheduled to be in session for only 16 more days before the funding deadline.
GOP leadership is laying the groundwork to spend most of that time on another priority: a long-shot, party-line bill that spends $95 billion to boost defense, aid farmers and get portions of President Donald Trump's elections overhaul bill passed into law.
"I think it's kind of smart to go ahead and take the potential chaos of a shutdown off the table because the amount of damage that does to the American citizens," said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. He said he believed a shutdown "probably works to the advantage of Democrats politically," and he blamed the press for such a scenario.
Democrats overwhelmingly opposed the stopgap measure, which would generally fund agencies at current spending levels.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the legislation was dropped on Democrats on Friday without any bipartisan negotiations. She said that, among other priorities, Democrats would have pushed for provisions to reverse a proposed federal rule that could allow agency heads to block or terminate grants they claim don't match the president's priorities.
She said that instead of a bipartisan agreement, "we are scrambling to jam through a one-sided stopgap measure two days before everyone leaves for the August recess."
Republicans said work on the dozen annual spending bills would continue in the months ahead, but that funding the government through Dec. 4 could help lawmakers avoid a repeat of the past year when the country experienced the longest federal shutdown in history followed by the longest partial shutdown in history.
"We've seen that happen twice in this Congress already," said Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "I'm not willing to risk a third time if we can avoid that."
Some of the more conservative Republican lawmakers were fine with the bill to extend funding to Dec. 4, known as a continuing resolution.
In this environment, that's "the best way to spend the least amount of money," said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. "You keep spending levels static for at least a period of time."
It's unclear if the Senate will go along with the bill. Spending bills require support from 60 senators to advance to a final vote, so some Democrats would need to support it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins was working with Democrats on the committee to "find a path forward."