The House just passed the first of a planned series of “minibus” bills to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2019, but it won near-universal opposition from Democrats as well as a group of conservatives that are threatening another spending fight in September.
The House Friday approved the $145.4 billion Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act.
The bill passed comfortably, 235-179. But 16 Republicans voted against the bill, creeping close to the level that could have sunk the bill if not for the 21 “yes” votes from Democrats who broke with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. If those Democratic votes aren’t there again, future spending bills will be in trouble.
And passing spending bills is expected to get more difficult. Friday’s bill included some of the least controversial spending measures, yet Democrats lined up against it, citing provisions in the bill they oppose and desire to gain leverage by forcing Republicans to try to pass it without them.
The next round of spending bills could lose even more Democrats and garner more opposition from fiscal hawk conservatives. On Friday, most of the 16 Republicans who voted against the minibus were House Freedom Caucus members.
Among them was Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C.. Meadows voted for the bill after lawmakers adopted his amendment to audit the spending of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign.
But Meadows said HFC members are wary of the spending process and fear Republicans and Democrats will punt with another omnibus measure by saving the hardest-to-pass measures until late into the fiscal year.
Many HFC members do not support the bipartisan spending cap deal for the fiscal 2019 bills, which increases the deficit by more than $1 trillion.
No spending bills are on the schedule next week, despite a sense of urgency among lawmakers to pass them in the House and send them to the Senate this summer.
Two new spending bills are ready for floor action. The Appropriations Committee advanced the Interior and Environment bill as well as the Defense Appropriations bill last week.
But the House plans to take up a series of bills next week to help battle the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Still, Republican leaders Friday were optimistic about tackling the other spending bills, even after Pelosi went to the House floor to denounce the minibus as “a partisan spending bill that tramples over some of our American values.”
Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., who is retiring, said the minibus bill was written with input from lawmakers in both parties in the form of 57,000 requests from lawmakers.
“This begins the 2019 appropriations process on a strong footing and fulfills our commitment to the American people that we’ll get our work done on their behalf,” he said.
