Appropriating ahead of schedule

House Republicans have completed the first step in what they hope will become the new normal for government funding. On Tuesday, the House passed the first individual appropriations bill for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Between now and then, Republicans hope to deliberate on and vote on 12 funding bills rather than take the shortcut that Congress has relied on for 40 years by passing a giant omnibus bill at the last minute—or later. But already, GOP policy riders are causing friction with Democrats that will only get stronger as Oct. 1 approaches.

A handful of Republicans believe the party should take measures now to ensure a spending fight doesn’t overlap with the appropriations deadline, which will hit just weeks before the presidential election.

The bill approved Tuesday set the 2025 appropriations for military construction, veterans’ affairs, and related agencies. The measure, known on Capitol Hill as Milcon-VA, typically receives bipartisan support and is the least controversial of next year’s 12 spending packages. It passed by a vote of 209-197.

In addition to funding the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction, and other related expenses, the text included Republican priorities such as defunding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; forbidding paying for any promotion of critical race theory; and eliminating funding for abortions.

The bill’s price tag of $378.6 billion exceeded the $369.3 billion that the Biden administration requested in its yearly budget. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the bill wasn’t perfect, but he supported it.

“Some of us have strong reservations about it, but we are trying to be team players and move it along,” Roy said on Monday. “It [costs] like $42,000 a veteran. I mean, I figure we could do . . . better if we just mailed them a check, but maybe we should come back and find out how to make the VA be more effective with the money that we’re spending. That being said, we want to be supportive.”

Roy said he would support the bill as long as House Speaker U.S. Mike Johnson continues his efforts to pass a more transparent budget.

Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said GOP House members likely could not cut the cost of the bill if they wanted to.

“Governing is tough when you have a two-seat margin,” Scott said.

Republicans started this session of Congress with 222 seats but have lost a handful of lawmakers due to early resignations. Reps Ken Buck of Colorado, Bill Johnson of Ohio, Kevin McCarthy of California, and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin all cut short their congressional careers. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was expelled by the chamber after a New York indictment accusing him of mismanaging campaign funds and stealing personal information from donors. Republicans took back one seat earlier this week with the swearing-in of Vince Fong, R-Calif., bringing the GOP majority to 218 seats in the House.

The day before Milcon-VA passed, Democrats voiced objections to Republican attempts to include policies, especially eliminating funding for abortions. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., served as the ranking Democrat during the appropriations negotiations for this year’s Milcon-VA bill. She believes that ending that funding runs counter to Republican agreements to increase funding by 1 percent overall in 2025 under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

“The total toplines are supposed to be 1 percent more, and that drives the allocations to all the committees. The allocations are pitiful. That has driven massive cuts that we wouldn’t have to be going through.”

Wasserman also pointed out that the diversity, equity, and inclusion standards being eliminated protected pregnant women and servicemembers with disabilities against discrimination in the workforce. When asked if she sees a path forward for the Milcon-VA bill and others like it, Wasserman Shultz said she doesn’t think there’s room for negotiations.

“They are worshiping at the altar of Donald Trump. That’s what they care about,” Wasserman Shultz said.

Republicans have long lobbied for these changes. When Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was House speaker, last year, the GOP passed its own set of appropriations bills. They stalled and ultimately didn’t become law. Anticipating similar conflicts this year, some Republicans have suggested Johnson pass a preemptive continuing resolution that would prevent a government shutdown if appropriations aren’t approved by Oct. 1.

“I’ve been pretty public in saying that we should consider a CR—but only if that CR extends into ’25,” Roy said. “I have no interest in a lame-duck CR. I think that if you do that before August then you can. Continue to have unfettered debate on appropriations and see what we can get done.”

For now, the Veterans Affairs and Government Construction bill heads to the Senate where it meets an uncertain fate. In a statement made by the Office of Management and Budget, President Biden signaled that he would oppose the package if it reached his desk.