House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told the House Republican Conference this week that he expects the chamber to work on a short-term extension of government spending until a full FY2024 funding bill can be agreed upon.
The House, which has passed only one of its 12 appropriations bills, has just 12 days in session when it returns from its August recess to fund the government before current appropriations expire on October 1.
“In any event, I do expect a short-term [Continuing Resolution] will be needed to finish all the work that we set out to do,” McCarthy reportedly said on the call with the conference.
“I also told [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer], if we can get working, if he could start moving his appropriations bills, we can move ours, we can get into a conference, and if we do a short-term CR based upon the number of days, I do not want to do a CR that jams us up against Christmas or the holidays,” McCarthy reportedly said on the call. “Not going to do that, not going to play that game. We’re going to pass this on the merits of what’s in these bills and what the policy is. It’s just a better way to govern and a better way for all of us to achieve what America wants us to be able to achieve.”
The Senate, unlike the House, has not passed a single appropriations bill on the floor. It has, however, passed all 12 of its bills through committee.
