In a race to avoid a shutdown, lawmakers are considering bypassing their own rules
On Capitol Hill, the only rules that really matter are the ones that a majority of lawmakers are willing to enforce. So as Congress races to finalize a $1.2 trillion spending package that will almost certainly become law in the coming days, lawmakers are weighing several shortcuts and tricks to avoid a partial government shutdown after midnight Friday. to prevent.
Although a short closure during the weekend would not be as disruptive as a closure during the work week, it could still have consequences.
“If Republicans and Democrats continue to work together in good faith to fund the government, I hope we are just days away from completing the appropriations process,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and Majority Leader. Wednesday. “The job is not done yet, but we are very close.”
Here are the ways congressional leaders must break, bend or otherwise twist the rules to get the legislation done before 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning, when federal funding for half the government threatens to expire.
Waiving the 72-hour rule
For starters, Republican leaders will almost certainly try to waive a self-imposed rule requiring lawmakers to be given at least 72 hours to review legislation before voting on it. The rule is a clear cut with many Republican conservatives in the House of Representatives who say they have been forced many times in the past to vote for major bills as take-it-or-leave-it proposals, without sufficient time to to process them, to later discover objectionable proposals. provisions.
“If you are a Republican who plans to vote for this omnibus spending package, insist that you read it AT LEAST 72 hours, because you will own every dollar of increased spending, every disastrous Biden policy that funds,” said Representative Bob Good. Republican of Virginia and leader of the far-right Freedom Caucus, wrote on social media.
But because time is running out and the legislative text has not yet been made public as of Wednesday afternoon, it would be impossible to consider and adopt the legislation before the deadline if the rule were to be upheld.
Republicans dissatisfied that they weren’t given enough time to push through the legislation might oppose abandoning the rule, but some of those same Republicans admit they are unlikely to support the spending package anyway. Overriding the rule, however, is likely to fuel more right-wing resentment over Speaker Mike Johnson’s handling of spending issues.
Suspending the rules
Opposition over the right to pass the spending bills has forced Mr Johnson to deal with them under a special procedure that prevents opponents from blocking the vote on the legislation. The far right has used a previously rare tactic to oppose the “rule” of their own party by bringing the spending bills to the floor, a break from House tradition.
As a result, Mr Johnson has brought up the spending legislation under what is known as ‘suspension of the rules’. The process, as the name suggests, invalidates the regular rules of the House, preventing brief debates in the chamber and blocking efforts to amend the bills.
But as a special shortcut typically used for consensus legislation, it would require a supermajority of two-thirds of the House of Representatives — 290 if everyone is present — to pass. Significant numbers of Democrats will have to join Republicans in passing the measure, as dozens of Republicans will vote against any spending plan.
Under internal rules that House Republicans approved at the start of Congress last year, this maneuver cannot be used for a bill estimated to cost more than $100 billion unless the spending to finance it lowers. But a Republican Party official said a spending bill — even one that would cost 10 times as much — could not violate the rule because the Congressional Budget Office does not provide cost estimates for it.
Bypassing the Senate’s Time Limits
Once the legislation is approved by the House of Representatives, it will face a new set of hurdles in the Senate, which typically can only be bypassed if all 100 members agree — an unlikely event given conservative opposition to the spending package.
When the House is ready, Mr. Schumer will move as quickly as possible to bring the legislation to the floor. He will then take steps to limit debate and block amendments that could destroy the agreement. Once that clock starts, the Senate must wait at least a day before taking up the motion to end debate on the package. If successful, the Senate could spend up to 30 hours considering the bill, potentially delaying debate until after the weekend.
In exchange for speeding up the process, members of the Senate’s right-wing Republican bloc will likely demand the chance to offer some amendments, as they did when the first spending package was passed. A combination of Republicans and Democrats defeated them all and would have to do so again, as approval of an amendment would require the measure to be sent back to the House of Representatives.
One factor contributing to faster passage through the Senate is that both the Senate and House of Representatives will go on a two-week Easter break once the legislation is approved. The desire to leave the city could reduce opposition and allow the Senate to act quickly if opponents accept they have no real option to block its passage.
Punting – or briefly blowing – the deadline
If it became clear that the legislation would stall in the Senate as the shutdown deadline approached, Congress could also approve a short-term patch to buy more time. But Senate and House leaders see the end near in the uphill battle to pass legislation to fund the government through September. They want to keep the pressure on.
And the last time Congress missed a Friday deadline to pass a major spending package earlier this month, President Biden didn’t sign it until the next day, technically allowing for a brief shutdown that went unnoticed.