House approves partial funding package as Congress races to avoid another shutdown

Washington — The House easily approved bipartisan legislation Thursday to fund several federal agencies and programs through September as lawmakers work to avert the threat of another government shutdown later this month.

In a 397 to 28 vote, lawmakers approved the three-bill package, known as a "minibus," which House and Senate negotiators released earlier this week. The package includes funding for science initiatives and the Departments of Commerce and Justice; energy and water development; and the Department of Interior and the EPA. 

Congress has until Jan. 30 to fund major parts of the government, after lawmakers approved a short-term funding measure to end the longest government shutdown in history in November. That three-bill package funded parts of the government through September and extended funding for the remaining nine appropriations bills on a temporary basis.

Negotiations have hit snags at several points in the weeks since. The latest funding package was split in two after a conservative rebellion threatened to stall the legislation.

House conservatives had expressed opposition to earmarks within the package. Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, blasted funding for specific projects in Democrats' districts, while lauding his work to prevent an "outrageous" earmark for an organization in Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's district. 

To appease conservatives, GOP leaders agreed to separate the Commerce, Justice and science portion from the other two bills. The maneuver gave conservatives an opportunity to vote against the Commerce, Justice and science portion — which includes provisions they disapprove of — while voting in favor of the other measures. 

In a 375 to 47 vote, the House approved the Commerce, Justice and science piece of the legislation. The portion dealing with energy and water development, the Department of Interior and the EPA passed 419 to 6. The House then voted to recombine the bills and send the final version to the Senate.

The path to averting a partial government shutdown

The Senate is expected to take up the package as soon as next week, with dwindling time to address the remaining funding bills. 

Besides the three bills and the package passed in November, Congress has six other funding measures to assemble and approve before the end of the month. And if all funding isn't approved before the deadline, lawmakers may be forced to again extend funding on a temporary basis to avoid a partial shutdown of the unfunded agencies. 

Both chambers are expected to forge ahead quickly in the coming weeks. House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference Wednesday that the lower chamber plans to take up three more funding bills next week and go from there. 

"With just three weeks to go until the funding deadline, we are very hopeful, very bullish, that this package of bills is going to continue our good momentum toward completing annual apportions with regular order without a bloated, wasteful omnibus spending bill," Johnson said. 

GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top appropriator in the Senate, said that the next package is expected to include funding for the Department of Homeland Security; the State Department and foreign operations; and financial services and general government. The final package, Collins said, would then include funding for the Departments of Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.