House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speak to reporters following a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Stefanik brags House thwarted Senate omnibus bill to put members in ‘strongest negotiating position’ possible

Eden Villalovas September 19, 11:14 AM September 19, 11:14 AM Video Embed

With rising tensions between the chambers and an approaching hard deadline, Congress has looked to a so-called omnibus the last several years to pass the 12 full appropriations bills into a single bill, but the GOP-led House is shaking things up this year.

For the first time in five years, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed actions on all 12 regular appropriations bills with bipartisan support. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said House Republicans are leading the charge on keeping an omnibus spending bill off the table, giving them the strongest negotiating stance.

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“What is missed in a lot of this is, this is the first time the U.S. Senate in nearly a decade has actually passed appropriations bills, and you know who forced that — it was the House Republicans that forced that,” Stefanik said Tuesday on Fox News.

The Senate met on Monday to resume consideration of a minibus proposal that would combine three appropriations bills: military construction and veterans affairs, transportation and housing, and agriculture. Last week, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) objected to a substitute amendment to a minibus appropriations package, stalling the process. Appropriations Chairwoman Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) moved to suspend Senate rules on Monday, in an effort to move forward on the minibus.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) denounced Johnson’s attempt to block the amendments, stating, “It’s unfortunate that one member — who does not represent the views of most senators — prevented us from moving forward last week.”

Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chairwoman, said blocking the minibus and moving the proposed continuing resolution forward will give House Republicans the best negotiating position over the Democratic-controlled Senate.

“Usually, the Senate tries to jam the House with an omnibus massive $1,000 spending package,” Stefanik said. “We’re not seeing that. So, we want to make sure that the House has the strongest negotiating position to come when it comes to reining in our spending, and we believe this is the best way forward.”

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While the Senate pushes to combine multiple appropriations bills, Republican negotiators are busy working to hash out a deal to fund the government until Oct. 31. This weekend, a continuing resolution backed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was introduced, worked on by members from the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus.

Stefanik called the stopgap government funding bill “a step forward in the right direction,” but more than a dozen House Republicans have pledged to vote no on the measure, expected to be on the floor Thursday. Senate Democrats have pushed back on the measure as well, with Schumer saying on Tuesday it’s “a nonstarter here in the Senate” and the bill doesn’t include their party’s input.

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