House Republicans unveil slimmeddown funding bill
Dec 19, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has come out in support of a new short-term government funding bill. House Republicans unveiled the 116-page bill, down from over 1,500 pages, on Thursday afternoon. It includes millions for disaster relief to help communities impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton as well as money for farmers who have been impacted by droughts, wildfires and floods. The continuing resolution also added a debt limit extension until January 30, 2027. The new version of the bill does not include money for things like pay raises for members of Congress or the transfer of land for the Washington Commanders to build a new football stadium. "Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly, which is what the People gave us a mandate to accomplish,' Trump said on Truth Social while encouraging "All Republicans" and Democrats to vote yes on the bill. However, it does not appear Democrats are on board with the new bill. "The Musk, Johnson proposal is not serious," said Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "It's laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown."Jeffries is referring to Elon Musk, who railed against the original bill.With Republicans holding a narrow majority in the House, they would need nearly all members of the GOP to vote for it or have some Democrats join them in supporting the resolution. It would also need to pass the Senate, which Democrats still control. A bill needs to pass before Saturday to avoid a government shutdown.