The House of Representatives approved a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown in a 320-99 vote Thursday.
Congress was up against two deadlines — March 1 and March 8 — for 12 appropriations bills. Lawmakers extended the first deadline by a week and the second one by three weeks, set for March 22.
The Senate is expected to pass the stopgap bill on Thursday evening, marking the fourth time Congress extended funding at current spending levels.
Republicans were split, with 113 voting in favor and 97 voting against. Among the Utah congressmen, Reps. John Curtis, Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens voted no. Rep. Blake Moore, the vice chair of the House Republican Conference who represents Utah’s 1st District, voted yes.
Curtis, who represents Utah’s 3rd District, said in a statement that he “supported a continuing resolution to give Speaker Johnson the opportunity to unite the conference around a plan to rein in our out-of-control spending while responsibly keeping the government open” in November last year.
Although he said he is against a shutdown, Curtis said, “It is irresponsible for the government be funded by short term band aids.” He added that this stopgap bill “will increase the likelihood of an omnibus spending bill”, which doesn’t “represent Utah values.”
“Ultimately, I opposed this CR because we should work together to solve this fiscal year’s funding instead of kicking the can down the road,” Curtis said.
Meanwhile, Owens, who represents Utah’s 4th District, pointed out that the continuing resolution “fails to address the unprecedented flow of illegal migrants, deadly drugs and violent crime at our southern border,” which is why it didn’t earn his vote.
“President Biden has created the worst border crisis in U.S. history,” he said. “Congress needs to close the border and hold this failed administration accountable,” echoing Curtis’ sentiment about putting off dining solutions for a letter date.
Maloy, who represents Utah’s 2nd District, in her statement noted that the last budget passed in Congress was under former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“It’s past time for us to vote on spending bills for fiscal year 2024, which is nearly halfway over,” she said. “Passing another continuing resolution only keeps old Democratic policies in place and does nothing for the American people who are struggling under the weight of inflation fueled by wasteful government spending under the last budget.”
She added that this stopgap bill will hurt “our national security and military readiness.”
“Our defense budget is already insufficient, and in the dangerous world we live in, we can’t afford to fall any further behind in our competition with China,” Maloy said.
Moore indicated that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., “has been negotiating an appropriations agreement that will reduce year over year spending for the first time in over a decade and we are set to vote on the first package of these bills next week.”
As The Associated Press reported, Johnson said six bills are close to being finalized. The ones due next week include funding for the Departments of Agriculture, Energy and War, Veteran Affairs and Transportation.
“For years, Speaker Pelosi jammed members of Congress with giant omnibuses without any time to read them,” Moore said. “Speaker Johnson is bucking that process and adhering to the 72-hour rule that will give all members enough time to actually review the bills — a major, welcomed change.”
He said during his six town halls over the last week, he “heard from constituents on just how difficult a government shutdown would be for their livelihoods.”
“The 1st District is home to 40,000 federal workers, uniformed personnel, and military dependents who rely on federal paychecks for their work and service,” Moore added.
“While this appropriations cycle has been frustrating, I look forward to lowering our federal spending for the first time in recent history and ensuring our service members receive their paychecks.”
Last week, Moore told the Deseret News that a stopgap measure is the last resort.
Moore was optimistic about averting a shutdown, but wanted to push for “the most responsible option,” which is “finalizing the spending bills.”