House leaders unveil bill to avert government shutdown with additional Secret Service funding
House leaders unveiled on Sunday their new legislation to avert a shutdown at the end of the month and fund the government until Dec. 20.
The House is expected to vote on the roughly three-month clean continuing resolution by Wednesday, according to GOP leadership aides.
Here’s what’s in the bill:
$231 million in additional U.S. Secret Service funding
Since the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, lawmakers from both parties have been pushing for more funding and resources for the Secret Service. The additional aid is confined to helping the agency’s needs for the 2024 campaign, including protecting candidates.
No additional disaster relief
There are, however, funds included in the bill to replenish FEMA.
Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to the GOP conference in a Dear Colleague letter sent Sunday.
"The feedback and ideas from everyone have been very helpful, and next week the House will take the initiative and pass a clean, three-month CR to prevent the Senate from jamming us with a bill loaded with billions in new spending and unrelated provisions. Our legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR including only the extensions that are absolutely necessary," Johnson said in the letter.
Johnson admits that shutting down the government ahead of a presidential election would "be an act of malpractice."
"While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent path forward under the present circumstances," he said.
The speaker concluded his letter by saying, "From now until election day, I will continue with my tireless efforts and singular focus of growing our majority for the 119th Congress. It is my great honor to serve with you all in these historic days. The future of our exceptional nation directly depends upon our success, and I am confident that together we will prevail!"
The announcement from House leaders comes after the chamber last week failed to pass a six-month continuing resolution that included the SAVE Act, which would have required proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. Democrats argued that voting by noncitizens is already illegal and voted against the funding plan.
Former President Trump had called on Republicans to shut the government down if the election security bill didn’t become law. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "It would be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election because certainly we would get the blame.”
In a statement released moments after Johnson’s new funding proposal was unveiled, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was "pleased" negotiations led to "an agreement free of poison pills."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that House Democrats will "collectively evaluate" the spending legislation this week.
"Congress is on a bipartisan path to avoid a government shutdown," Jeffries said.
Still, Schumer knocked Johnson for his previous proposals, which delayed passage of a short-term funding bill.
Congress will now have a little over a week to act on the new proposal before funding runs out.
"If both sides continue to work in good faith, I am hopeful that we can wrap up work on the CR this week, well before the September 30 deadline. The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation, in both chambers," Schumer said.
