House Republicans battle over spending bills
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The U.S. House canceled votes ahead of the August recess, without finishing votes on spending bills.
In October of last year, days before his election as House Speaker, Mike Johnson sent a letter to colleagues outlining a schedule for passing a budget. It said, in August, the House would not “break for district work period unless all 12 appropriations bills have passed the House,” the letter said.
So far, the House has passed four of the 12 spending bills, yet Republican leadership plans to break for the August recess, a week early. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
House Republicans spent Tuesday trying to attach amendments to spending bills. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) proposed an amendment to reduce the salary of the EPA administrator to $1. A Republican, Rep. Michael Simpson (R-Idaho), spoke up against it.
“I think this is silly. But we’re going to have more of them,” Simpson said.
Most Democrats opposed the spending bills because they said Republicans are using them to stoke culture wars.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said these spending bills are a starting point.
“Right now, we happen to have an initial negotiating position,” Cole said. “We’ve gotten 12 out of committee. We’ve done our part.”
Now, the House will break for the rest of the summer, with Republicans unable to reach consensus on one of the speaker’s goals.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
