There are three major methods House Republicans are using government financing bill Passing conservative priorities on abortion, diversity, and drag performances.
The House is expected to consider an appropriations bill this week providing funding for the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of State and overseas operations for fiscal year 2025.
It’s part of an ambitious schedule House GOP leaders have drawn up to pass their 12 individual appropriations bills by the August recess.
But beyond funding the government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, Republicans also see the spending race as an opportunity to pass at least some conservative social policies before the November election, where they risk losing their majority in the House.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to hold a vote on three culture war-heavy spending bills this week. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
This includes putting pressure on former President Trump border wall – The DHS appropriations bill includes $600 million to fund its construction, as well as a policy provision that will force Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to erect a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border as soon as possible.
Both the DHS and Defense bills prohibit their funds from being used for abortion services.
According to the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, the defense bill prohibits “the use of paid leave and travel or related expenses by military personnel or their dependents to obtain abortion or abortion-related services.”
The first bill prohibits the use of federal dollars to fund abortions for non-citizen detainees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Similarly, the bill also prohibits funds from going to measures related to transgender health care for ICE detainees.
The defense spending bill also bans the use of funds for programs such as Drag Queen Story Hour, and prevents the appointment of drag performers as military recruiters. The subcommittee’s bill summary argues that such programs “bring the military into disrepute.”
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Republicans also view the spending race as an opportunity to pass at least some conservative social policies before the November election, including funding for former President Trump’s border wall. (Fox News)
All three bills expected for consideration this week block federal dollars from going to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. This is a priority that House Republicans also pushed in a previous spending fight, which resulted in the shutdown of the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Similarly, the Defense and DHS bills place restrictions on departments that implement Critical Race Theory (CRT) programs.
While defense and DHS spending are set to increase modestly in fiscal year 2025, Republicans are targeting spending cuts at the State Department.
House Republicans are working toward a topline of about $1.6 trillion in discretionary government funding. GOP leaders are guided by last year’s Fiscal Responsibility Act, which passed a bill to reduce government spending by $1.6 trillion. an agreement was reached between Then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Biden proposed raising the debt ceiling and limiting federal spending.
But unlike last year, when the final numbers were inflated because of side deals between McCarthy and Biden, this time House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pledged to proceed only based on the top number.
The Defense bill and DHS bill see increases of roughly $9 billion and $3 billion, respectively, through 2024, while the State Department bill is cut by 11% compared to last year.
President Biden has already threatened to veto the bills. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
All three are being considered by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, the final stop before the bill is voted on in the House. However, Democrats have already come out in opposition to the House GOP’s plans.
Biden threatened to veto all three spending bills in a statement of administration policy on Monday.
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“Instead of honoring their agreement and taking advantage of the opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process that builds on last year’s bills, House Republicans are once again wasting time on partisan bills that would result in deep cuts to law enforcement, education, housing, health care, consumer protections, energy programs that lower utility bills and tackle climate change, and essential nutrition services,” the White House said.
“The draft bill also includes numerous discriminatory policy provisions with devastating consequences, including harming access to reproductive health care, threatening the health and safety of (LGBTQI+) Americans, jeopardizing marriage equality, hindering critical climate change initiatives, and preventing the administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
