The House passed an FY18 continuing resolution (CR) funding the government through December 22 by a vote of 235 to 193. Voting against the bill were 18 Republicans (Amash-MI, Biggs-AZ, Brooks-AL, Gaetz-FL, Garrett-VA, Gohmert-TX, Gosar-AZ, Griffith-VA, Harris-MD, Hollingsworth-IN, Jones-NC, Labrador-ID, Massie-KY, Mooney-WV, Perry-PA, Ratcliffe-TX, Wittman-VA, and Zeldin-NY) and 175 Democrats. Fourteen Democrats (Bustos-IL, Crist-FL, Gottheimer-NJ, Murphy-FL, O’Halleran-AZ, Peters-CA, Peterson-MN, Rosen-NV, Ruiz-CA, Schneider-IL, David Scott-VA, Sinema-AZ, Speier-CA, and Walz-MN) voted for the measure. Five members (one Republican – Bridenstine-OK and four Democrats – Brownley-CA, Kennedy-MA, Lawson-FL, and Pocan-WI) did not vote.

The Senate then passed the two-week CR by a vote of 81 to 14. The fourteen members who voted against the measure were: Booker (D-NJ), Cruz (R-TX), Ernst (R-IA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Harris (D-CA), Hirono (D-HI), Lee (R-UT), Markey (D-MA), McCain (R-AZ), Merkley (D-OR), Rounds (R-SD), Sanders (I-VT), Sasse (R-NE), and Warren (D-MA).

The President signed the measure into law today.

Congressional leaders now need to broker a long-term funding agreement to fund the federal government for the rest of FY18. House and Senate leadership met with the President yesterday, but they don’t seem to be any closer on a final spending deal. The deal leadership is discussing reportedly includes $200B in additional spending – $73B for defense, $56B for non-defense, and $70B for emergency spending. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) speculated that a third CR may be needed in order to give the Appropriations Committee enough time to assemble an FY18 omnibus appropriations bill once they have agreement on topline spending levels.

Negotiators are hoping to get a deal on the budget caps before the Dec. 22 deadline. If lawmakers aren’t able to get a deal on the budget, sequestration is set to start in mid-January, which will spark automatic spending cuts. Senate Republicans need the support of Democrats to pass an FY18 omnibus spending measure. Democrats are asking for parity in increases in defense and nondefense spending. They may be willing to support an increase in defense spending if it was matched with an equal increase on the nondefense side. Democrats are also asking for an extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and a legislative fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Republicans are also pushing for funding for a southwest border wall.

House Republicans discussed plans to pass another FY18 continuing resolution (CR) funding the government through December 22. And House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) indicated in a newsletter to constituents that the CR will last through 12/22. The current CR expires next Friday, December 8. House conservatives are concerned that a deadline right before Christmas will lead to approval of a massive spending bill. They prefer a one-month CR funding the government through January with some increases for defense spending. Democrats also declined to support the short-term CR because of a series of tweets from the President earlier this week. Democratic leaders boycotted a meeting with the President on Tuesday after he attacked them for being “weak on crime.” Democrats may also be withholding their support for another CR in order to increase their leverage in year-end negotiations, more specifically, to include a solution for “Dreamers” in the final spending deal.

While there isn’t consensus over how long the next CR should be or what should be attached to it, there is agreement that the spending caps set by the 2011 Budget Control Act must be raised to get a bipartisan deal on a final spending package. Republicans have offered a $54B increase in defense spending and a $37B increase in non-defense spending. Democrats are asking for parity between defense and non-defense spending increases.

Status of FY18 Appropriations Spending Bills