Congress is not on target to pass 12 annual spending bills by the Sept. 30 deadline.
Throughout much of 2023 and early 2024, Congress focused on appropriations. The goal was to pass twelve bills to fund all aspects of the federal government by Sept. 30. However, Congress missed the deadline and three subsequent extensions to pass the bills. To prevent a government shutdown, they opted to pass continuing resolutions (CRs) to provide temporary funding and allow more time to act.
These CRs faced significant criticism, with the first CR leading to the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The process was finally completed on March 23, almost six months later than required.
Observers suggest that Congress may face a similar situation this year.
12 Bills to Pass
Starting the work week of July 8, the House is expected to address the fifth out of twelve appropriations bills for the 2025 fiscal year, beginning on Sept. 30. This specific bill pertains to funding for the legislative branch, including Congress itself.
As of July 6, the House has passed four appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year, which fund the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs. House Speaker Mike Johnson, prior to taking office last October, pledged to finalize the passage of all 12 appropriations bills by the end of July, vowing not to let the House break for its August recess unless this was accomplished.
However, the House’s bills are likely to face challenges in their current form, as they contain provisions opposed by congressional Democrats, who hold the majority in the Senate. The White House has also indicated that President Joe Biden would veto the bills as currently written.
When disagreements arise, the Senate typically passes its own versions of the bills, which can differ significantly. Both chambers then enter a conference process to reconcile discrepancies and ultimately pass a revised version of the bill.
However, the Senate has yet to pass any appropriations bill for the upcoming fiscal year. The Senate Appropriations Committee has begun work on the bills and has requested funding input from senators.
The Senate’s delay leads many to believe that Congress will miss the Sept. 30 deadline this year. Both houses of Congress are only scheduled to be in session for 30 days before the deadline.
“It is highly unlikely that Congress will complete its appropriations work before Sept. 30. … Congress will probably pass a CR in September to extend the deadline to December, where they will either negotiate a full-year omnibus or another continuing resolution,” stated Joshua Huder, a senior fellow at The Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, to The Epoch Times.
A Continuing Resolution
If approved, a CR would provide temporary funding for the government at 2024 fiscal year levels. CRs have been contentious in the past, particularly among those advocating for greater spending reductions. Critics argue that CRs do not account for inflation, effectively resulting in budget cuts.
“[A CR] is a product of this fundamentally dysfunctional Congress that is unwilling to weather challenges to deliver real outcomes for the American people,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) expressed after the passage of last year’s initial CR.
“Conservatives must continue to push for change and seize opportunities to compel this administration to curb excessive spending in Washington,” Mr. Roy added.
On the other hand, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin cautioned in 2023 and 2024 that CRs negatively impact national security by limiting spending. “Military recruitment and readiness would suffer. We would not be able to make essential investments in our defense industry and would be unable to enter crucial new multi-year contracts for ammunition,” he wrote in December 2023.
Some conservative groups, however, endorse a CR in September, anticipating potential Republican victories in November that could lead to aggressive spending cuts in 2025 under a new administration. David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, a conservative fiscal advocacy group, told The Epoch Times, “[We] would likely support a continuing resolution … to shift the funding debate to the next administration, when President Trump and Republicans in Congress can make headway in reducing spending.”
Multiyear Trend
The congressional calendar has often seen delayed appropriations processes followed by CRs. Congress last met its deadline to pass all appropriations bills in 1997, marking only the fourth on-time passage since 1977, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Despite CRs being enacted to prevent shutdowns, all 12 appropriations bills are rarely passed individually. Instead, Congress frequently consolidates them into omnibus bills, which are typically several thousand pages long and drafted shortly before deadlines. These extensive bills are often opposed by lawmakers who argue that they are too extensive to thoroughly review and analyze.
“The reality is that no one, except perhaps leadership, who votes on this bill tomorrow will have had the opportunity to read it in its entirety.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) expressed concern over the lack of transparency in the spending of over $1 trillion of American taxpayer dollars in the last bill passed in March. He highlighted that the appropriators are unaware of where all the money is going.
Mr. Huder pointed out that time constraints prevent Congress from completing all 12 bills, leading to this being the norm in current business practices.
Efforts to reach Messrs. Johnson, Cole, and Roy, as well as Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) for comment were unsuccessful.
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