OAN’s Sophia Flores
11:43 AM – Friday, March 22, 2024
Congress is racing to pass a government spending package, which includes $1.2 trillion to keep several agencies up and running.
On Friday morning, the House voted on the bill. It was passed in a 286 to 134 vote. 112 GOP lawmakers opposed the bill, while 106 other party members voted to advance it. Only 22 Democrats voted against the package.
Now the upper chamber will vote and many senators, such as Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have vowed to hold it up.
“I will hold it up primarily because we’re bankrupt, and it’s a terrible idea to keep spending money at this rate,” he said on Wednesday.
“The spending bills before us will lead to a $1.5 trillion deficit for the year. We’re borrowing about $1 trillion every three months. It’s an alarming pace of accumulation of debt,” he continued.
The package appears to have enough bipartisan support to pass eventually. However, a temporary shutdown could happen.
It is comprised of six appropriations bills, which account for 70% of discretionary government spending. The package would cover funding for the government for the rest of the fiscal year 2024. It will primarily focus on adding more funding to the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, as well as Education and Health & Human Services.
Meanwhile, in response to the vote, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate Mike Johnson as Speaker.
It will not be brought to the floor until after the recess.
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