A long-term extension of existing funding levels is being considered for a vote next week by GOP leaders, but House Democratic leaders have indicated that they would not support it.
“That threatens to cut funding for healthcare, nutritional assistance and veterans benefits through the end of the current fiscal year,” the top Democrats — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) — said of the Republicans’ bill.
Democratic House members were informed on Friday that the situation was “not acceptable” in a letter they sent to one another.
Before March 14—the date when government financing expires—lawmakers are rushing to prevent a shutdown.
The letter Jeffries sent on Friday is a follow-up to a similar warning he made the day before in the Capitol.
Although Democrats are in the minority in the House, their stance against the funding package might derail the endeavor due to Republicans’ razor-thin majority and the fact that several GOP legislators have yet to endorse the plan.
A continuing resolution (CR) would continue financing for 2024 through September, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is under pressure from these factors to bring his divided conference behind the spending plan.
Johnson said on Thursday that he plans to do exactly that.
“I believe we’ll pass it along party lines, but I think every Democrat should vote for the CR,” he told reporters in the Capitol.
Democrats oppose the CR strategy because they advocate for more government funding as outlined in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which received bipartisan approval in 2023.
To reach an agreement based on the higher 2025 figures, the top appropriators from both houses of Congress have been in discussions for months. However, Johnson has decided to forego the effort and maintain the 2024 levels for the upcoming six months. Additionally, the idea has the support of House Appropriations Committee head Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), who expressed his approval of it this week.
On Wednesday, Cole assured reporters that they would not have to deal with CRs every two weeks and similar situations. We must proceed until September, according to the Speaker. That choice has my full support.
However, Democrats have the opposite view and are aiming to get Republicans back to the bargaining table by opposing the CR.
The leaders stated that Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, is prepared to negotiate a bipartisan budget deal that prioritizes working people.
To counteract President Trump’s pledged continuation of tax cuts, Democrats have accused Republicans of using their CR plan as a tool in a larger effort to reduce funding for government services. Major social assistance programs, they said, will be hit hard.
“The leaders of the House Democrats have stated their intention to vigorously back a bill that safeguards Social Security, Medicare, veterans health, and Medicaid, but Republicans have decided to target these programs in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy,” they stated.
“We cannot support a plan that deprives ordinary Americans of healthcare and retirement benefits—which are essential to their well-being—in order for Republicans to fund large tax cuts for their affluent donors, such as Elon Musk,” they said.
Our bottom line is Medicaid.
