House Republicans Reach Consensus on New Funding Bill in Effort to Prevent Government Shutdown – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
3:31 PM – Thursday, December 19, 2024
House Republicans swiftly finalized a new funding agreement to prevent a government shutdown by Friday, with President-elect Donald Trump urging all conference members to approve it by Thursday night.
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The updated funding plan would allow the government to function for an additional three months, continue agricultural support, implement a two-year suspension of the debt limit until January 30th, 2027, and provide replenished disaster relief.
Furthermore, it eliminates certain “excessive spending” provisions from the earlier bill presented on Wednesday, as outlined in the comprehensive 116-page document.
“Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
“All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!”
Prior to this, the attempted deal, comprising over 1,500 pages, was scrapped after being criticized by DOGE leaders Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and several other GOP officials, including Trump, who expressed their displeasure with the bill’s contents. Republicans labeled the extensive legislation as chiefly “pork” barrel politics.
“Pork barrel politics is the legislator’s practice of slipping funding for a local project into a larger appropriations bill,” as described by Investopedia.
Lawmakers could cast their votes in the House by 6 p.m. (EST) according to various reports, yet it remains uncertain if the bill will be approved by the Rules Committee or placed directly on the floor.
Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries indicated on Wednesday that Democrats would likely oppose any new bill that leans more partisan than bipartisan, implying that they might seek to impede the passage of this latest proposal following their loss of control in both chambers.
“House Democrats will persist in advocating for families, farmers, and the future of blue-collar Americans,” stated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to reporters on Thursday. “To achieve this, a BIPARTISAN agreement, which we negotiated, is the most viable route forward.”
According to House rules, any proposal that bypasses the committee needs two-thirds approval from the lower chamber, implying that some Democrats must vote in favor for the bill to pass.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was seen sequestered in his office throughout Thursday as numerous Republican lawmakers visited.
Trump has been kept informed about the negotiations, per lawmakers involved in the discussions.
“The newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, support our Great Farmers and others, and provide assistance for those severely affected by devastating hurricanes,” Trump remarked.
News of the agreement surfaced as the House Freedom Caucus convened to strategize. Leadership has been eager to expedite the acceptance of the agreement.
This new deal removes provisions from the previous one, including no salary increase for Congress members, elimination of up to $2 billion in funding for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and reforms targeting pharmaceutical benefit managers, among others.
Following the rejection of the earlier government funding proposal, Trump called on Congress to address the debt limit, which had been suspended until early the following year. The new debt ceiling suspension will continue until January 30th, 2027, solely if the measure secures passage.
If Congress fails to approve the funding, the government will face a partial shutdown after midnight Friday.
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