Early Thursday morning, lawmakers unveiled the text of a $1.2 trillion government spending package negotiated by the White House and leaders from both parties to avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend.
The package covers defense, homeland security, financial services, general government, labor, the legislative branch, and state foreign activities. It funds the federal government until September 30, the conclusion of the fiscal year.
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted the bill as lawmakers seek to pass the package before Friday at midnight.
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“The minibus was released at 2:32 am and is 1,012 pages of $1.2 trillion taxpayer dollars. And we are supposed to be voting on it tomorrow morning under suspension with no amendments allowed with the super scary government shutdown deadline threat looming tomorrow at midnight,” said Rep. Greene on X. “It takes 27.8 hours for the average reader to read 1,000 pages. I guess we are supposed to just pass it first and then find out what’s in it like Nancy Pelosi says.”
“This comes after months and months of hardly any effort to pass single-issue appropriation bills while 3 Continuing Resolutions (continuing Pelosi’s budget) were passed. Our Republican majority started this Congress with sweeping rule changes to stop this very behavior, yet here we are on the verge of passing a second minibus under suspension with no amendments allowed and violating the 72-hour rule,” said Greene.
“Instead of defunding the WHO, our Republican House minibus funds the WHO and funds abortions at home and abroad!” said Greene.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s chair and vice chair, Democrat Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told NPR that “there is zero need for a shutdown or chaos.”
“Members of Congress should waste no time in passing these six bills, which will greatly benefit every state in America and reflect important priorities of many Senators,” the pair said in a statement.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he expected the House to vote on Friday.
“The Republican Party believes in the idea that you review legislation before you vote on it. And the 72-hour custom — tradition — is something we maintain,” Johnson said after a closed-door meeting with the GOP conference. “We’re also up against the crunch of the weekend, and some members on both sides of the aisle will be traveling and that kind of thing. So we’re talking about how to expedite it as quickly as possible, but also allow all the members to have an adequate time to review the legislation.”
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