{"id":55164,"date":"2017-12-21T05:26:36","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T05:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=55164"},"modified":"2017-12-21T05:26:36","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T05:26:36","slug":"trouble-brewing-as-gop-struggles-with-spending-bill-votes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/trouble-brewing-as-gop-struggles-with-spending-bill-votes.html","title":{"rendered":"Trouble brewing as GOP struggles with spending bill votes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trouble brewing as GOP struggles with spending bill votes<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Trouble brewing as GOP struggles with spending bill votes:- House Republican leaders are moving ahead with a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open for a few more weeks, even as they struggled on Wednesday to muster the necessary GOP votes for the plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of the House Freedom Caucus and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) huddled separately with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) late Wednesday night to voice opposition to leadership\u2019s plan to avoid a government shutdown, which will take place Friday at midnight if Congress doesn\u2019t intervene.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an encouraging sign for Ryan and his top lieutenants, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said several members of his group flipped from \u201cno\u201d to \u201cyes\u201d after striking a deal with leadership on a temporary reauthorization of a surveillance program that is also included in the tentative spending patch.<\/span><\/p>\n

But defense hawks were still unhappy that the continuing resolution (CR) won\u2019t include a full year of funding for defense, though it\u2019s unclear if there will be enough opposition to sink the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are a lot of people who are going to spend their time tonight really thinking about whether or not this is the hill we\u2019re going to die on,\u201d Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla), a member of HASC, said coming out of Ryan’s office. \u201cWe just had this great moment on tax reform.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re going to get the votes,\u201d he added. <\/span><\/p>\n

GOP leadership has been scrambling to avoid a government shutdown just days before the holidays. They outlined a strategy to the conference on Wednesday that would involve passing a clean CR to fund the government through Jan. 19 and holding a separate vote on a massive $81 billion disaster aid package.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the strategy was quickly thrown in doubt as it became clear House GOP leadership did not have the votes to get the bill through the chamber.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think what they\u2019re whipping right now will get 218 [votes]. I don\u2019t think it will even be close,\u201d said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a member of the House Freedom Caucus.<\/span><\/p>\n

It marks the second time in as many days that House GOP leaders have had their plans foiled amid backlash from defense hawks and conservative members.<\/span><\/p>\n

Republican leadership needs to pass a stopgap bill without the help of House Democrats, who are being urged by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to oppose the CR because it doesn\u2019t address a host of Democratic priorities, including immigration, money for the opioid crisis and a boost for non-defense spending caps.<\/span><\/p>\n

GOP members were whipped on the clean CR during the Wednesday evening vote series. In addition to government funding, the bill would temporarily fund the expiring Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), temporarily extend the government\u2019s surveillance powers and include a series of spending \u201canomalies\u201d for defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The House Rules Committee is supposed to meet early Thursday morning to prepare both the CR and the disaster relief bill for floor votes later in the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the strategy initially ran into resistance after it was presented to the GOP conference. Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) described the meeting as “tense” as the party struggled to unite around a plan to keep the government open.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defense hawks are adamant that the stopgap bill include a full year of funding for defense. GOP leadership had initially promised to link the CR with funding for the Pentagon in exchange for their votes on the previous two-week CR.<\/span><\/p>\n

But that original plan was scrapped on Tuesday amid complaints that the defense-CR package was dead on arrival in the Senate, where some Democratic support is needed. There were also reservations about the massive disaster aid package that was supposed to be attached to the stopgap bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), a member of both the Freedom Caucus and the Armed Services Committee, said he wants to force GOP leaders to send the Senate a long-term extension of defense spending.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing our troops a real disservice. \u2026 I think it\u2019s going to take a couple volleys. I don\u2019t think this thing will whip out to where the votes are there for what leadership\u2019s proposing,\u201d he told reporters Wednesday evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think us \u2013\u2013 and you \u2013\u2013 are in for a long week. I don\u2019t expect to get out of here until Friday or Saturday,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was “bitterly disappointed” and would oppose a stopgap bill that didn’t fund defense programs through the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) also said he was a \u201clean no.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some conservatives were also concerned that the CR includes language to temporarily extend a surveillance program authorized by section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf they took [the] FISA extension off the CR, I would hold my nose and vote for it,\u201d said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), another member of the Freedom Caucus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meadows, who wants to see long-term reforms to the spying program, said he secured a commitment from leadership that there would eventually be a standalone vote on a long-term FISA reauthorization and that his group would be allowed to offer requested amendments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leaders have been adamant that they will not allow the government to close, which many Republicans worry would overshadow their recent victory on tax reform.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like leaving the hospital, just finding out you\u2019re cancer free, and getting run over by a Mack truck,\u201d said Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/finance\/365927-trouble-brewing-as-gop-struggles-with-spending-bill-votes<\/span><\/p>\n

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