ANOTHER DAY, SAME APPROPS MESS Even by congressional standards, things on the government funding front are a complete mess. With the first partial shutdown deadline just eight days away, here's what's up in the air:
- Whether funding levels agreed to by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker Mike Johnson last weekend are final final. Namely, conservatives want a new deal while pretty much everyone else says that's crazy.
- Whether they'll need a short-term funding patch — and if they do, how long it should last.
Meeting with members of the House Freedom Caucus earlier today, Johnson faced a conservative rebellion over the funding deal reached last weekend. While the hard-liners pushed for more concessions, Johnson said he made no commitments, and House appropriators quickly panned the idea of reneging. “If you break that word, you can never negotiate anything again,” said Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.). “Those are the numbers we need to live by,” added Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio). Schumer later Thursday then took the first procedural step toward considering an eventual continuing resolution — exact length TBD — and indicating Senate movement next week. Hoping for another bite: Conservatives aren’t ready to give up on additional cuts. “What I'd like [Johnson] to do and what all the conservatives would is, do the best deal you can do. I know he's working on it,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who speaks often with the House Freedom Caucus. It all portends a protracted fight ahead to finalize the spending measures, heightening the need for a short-term spending patch — possibly into March, as floated by Minority Whip John Thune earlier this week. But that's not settled, either. Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said there is talk of maintaining the “laddered” structure favored by the House on any new stopgap — an idea, she said, she’s “come around to accepting.” “Maybe we can at least get some of the bills across the president's desk,” Collins added. “That would be progress.” Meanwhile, Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.), a House appropriator and Freedom Caucus member, held out hope for both reopening the funding levels discussion and avoiding another patch: “Nobody wants to shut down the government, but at the same time, we can move quickly.” Timing concerns: There’s a practical issue at play: The two chambers are only scheduled to overlap for one week next month following the Feb. 2 deadline for the rest of the spending bills. Absent a change to the usually-sacrosanct congressional schedule, the House and Senate are then only slated to be in Washington at the same time the week of March 4. That points to the need for a CR at least into March. “Let's say you actually had really good negotiations and they lasted a week, and you got everything done, then that's gonna take about three weeks to get the bills through,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a senior appropriator. Others aren’t willing to talk about a new deadline just yet, even as they concede its necessity. “I know it takes time to get things done,” said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). — Anthony Adragna and Burgess Everett, with help from Caitlin Emma, Katherine Tully-McManus and Nicholas Wu GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Jan. 11, where we’re always here for “good meetings,” “walking and chewing gum at the same time” and other Capitol Hill-isms.
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