WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday approved legislation to keep the government funded through early December, lift the limit on federal borrowing through the end of 2022 and provide emergency money for Afghan refugees and natural disaster recovery, setting up a fiscal showdown as Republicans warn they will block the measure in the Senate.
The bill is needed urgently to prevent a government shutdown, which will occur next week. Additionally, it will allow the Treasury Department to reach its limit of borrowing authority in just weeks. It has been tangled in partisan politics as Republicans refuse to allow a debt limit increase while Democrats control Congress and White House.
Democrats hoped to pressurize Republicans to accept the debt limit increase and the spending package. This is a routine step that allows government to meet its obligations. The legislation was passed with the necessary funding for their states in place, but no Republicans voted for it.
The bill was passed by 220 votes to 211, with just two Democratic votes in the tightly divided House.
Even though the chances of passing the bill in the 50-50 Senate seemed dim, Republicans declared that they would not vote in favor of the legislation or allow it to be passed in the chamber. The chamber requires 60 votes to move forward.
Only hours before the House vote was held, the legislation would extend government funding until Dec. 3, giving lawmakers more time to work on the dozen annual spending bills. These bills are on the verge of expiring when the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1. The package also provides $6.3 billion for Afghan refugees who want to move to the United States. $28.6 trillion would be available to rebuild communities after natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes or other recent events. It would lift the federal debt limit through Dec. 16, 2022.
“As this bill provides critical support for our families and communities it also addresses recent emergencies that require federal resources and incorporates feedback from members on both sides of the aisle,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, in a speech on the House floor.
Led by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, Republicans have warned for weeks that they had no intention of helping Democrats raise the limit on the Treasury Department’s ability to borrow. While the debt has been incurred with the approval of both parties, Mr. McConnell has repeatedly pointed to Democrats’ efforts to push multitrillion-dollar legislation into law over Republican opposition.
In remarks Tuesday, McConnell stated that he was not supporting raising the debt ceiling and that it should be left to the party in control.
“America must never default — we never have, and we never will,” McConnell spoke at his weekly news conferences. “But whose obligation it is to do that changes from time to time, depending upon the government the American people have elected. Right now, we have a Democratic president, Democratic House, Democratic Senate.”
“The debt ceiling will be raised, as it always should be,” He added. “But it will be raised by the Democrats.”
As soon as the House vote gaveled shut, Mr. McConnell and Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, unveiled their own funding legislation, without the debt ceiling increase.
Democrats, who worked with Republicans in raising the debt ceiling under Trump, have argued the G.O.P. This double standard is threatening to undermine the economy. If the government defaults on its debt for the first-time, it could cause a financial panic, shaking American credit faith and crashing the stock markets.
The bill will be considered by the Senate Democrats in the coming days. This is essentially to challenge Republicans to vote against it. It would be defeated if it didn’t have 10 Republicans backing it.
Legislators and their aides concede that it is possible for Democrats to fix the debt ceiling, as they control both chambers of Congress and the White House. They will use the same fast track budget process they used to pass their $3.5 trillion social security net plan, which was approved by the united Republican opposition. This process, called reconciliation, protects legislation from being filibustered.
Democratic leaders, however, have rejected the idea. It would be difficult and time-consuming, and could threaten their marquee domestic legislation. Instead, they argued that Republicans should do more to protect American credit and avoid a devastating default.
“Both Senate and House leadership have decided that that’s not an option they want to pursue,” On Monday, Representative John Yarmuth (Democrat from Kentucky, and chairman of the Budget Committee) said the following: “I want to raise it to a gazillion dollars and just be done with it.”
He blasted Mr. McConnell’s position on the federal borrowing limit, saying, “For him to say, ‘The debt ceiling has to be done, but we’re not going to do it’ is to me just the most ludicrous statement I’ve ever heard from a public official.”
Mr. McConnell and other Senate Republicans have said they would support a stopgap spending package with the emergency relief attached, as long as the debt limit increase was removed.
“I begged the White House, starting about two and a half weeks ago, not to do it, and they’re going to do it anyway,” Senator John Kennedy (Republican from Louisiana) said. “It tells me that they’re not really serious about helping my state.”
Kennedy stated that he would vote for the package, even though it offered disaster relief for Louisiana.
The drama surrounding the bill highlighted the delicate task that Democratic leaders will face in the weeks ahead to avoid fiscal disaster and pass both their $3.5 trillion-plus infrastructure compromise and their broad, multifaceted social policy package. They must find a way for moderate and progressive members of both parties to come together to pass bills despite the immovable Republican opposition to their agenda and the razor thin majorities in both chambers.
On Tuesday, House Democrats were forced to strip $1 billion that had been included in the spending legislation for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, after progressives — some of whom have accused Israel of human rights abuses against Palestinians — balked at its inclusion in an emergency spending package.
Some moderate Republicans were furious at the decision to scrap it and launched a torrent of criticism from them. However, Maryland’s majority leader, Representative Steny H.Hoyer, said that he would present a bill to finance this funding in the latter part of the week. This was due to be done under suspension of House rules.
“I was for that, I’m still for it — we ought to do it,” Mr. Hoyer said on the House floor, adding that he had spoken to Yair Lapid, the Israeli foreign minister, earlier in the day and offered his commitment to ensuring that it would clear the House. Senate Republicans included this provision in their version of Tuesday’s spending package.
To support Afghan refugees being resettled, the legislation would distribute billions across the federal government. This includes $1.7billion to provide support for refugees and English language classes. It would also include $1.8 billion for State Department, which would cover evacuations and essential assistance to refugees.
The bill authorizes $2.2Billion for the Pentagon. It also requires that the Pentagon submit a report detailing how the funds were spent, as well as oversight of the conditions in which refugees are treated at any Defense Department facility. The bill also requires that the Pentagon report to Congress about military property, equipment, and supplies that were left or taken from Afghanistan by the United States after the withdrawal.
According to the House Appropriations Committee’s summary, disaster aid is meant to address damage from Hurricanes Ida and Delta, Zeta and Laura, wildfires and droughts, as well as other natural devastation.