Home lockdown shattered after nearly a week: Republicans pass rule to move forward on gas stove, gun suspender legislation after deal with Tory rebels
- The House passed a rule to advance legislation on gun splints and gas stoves
- Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters Tuesday morning that the standoff was over “for now” but “everything is on the table,” including keeping the NDAA
- Appropriations chair Kay Granger said she would advance capped spending bills to fiscal 2022 levels – rather than 2023 levels in the debt deal
The House finally broke its nearly week-long deadlock after an intraparty row with Republicans.
The House passed a joint rule to allow a final vote on two separate packages – a resolution disapproving of the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms rule and four bills that would restrict the administration’s ability Biden to regulate gas stoves.
The rule was changed from 217 to 208 as all Democrats opposed it.
A pistol splint, also known as a stabilizing splint, allows one-handed firing of weapons. The ATF rule would require gun owners to register guns fitted with a pistol mount.
Bills can now go to the final vote.
The gang of 11 who withheld votes last week over frustrations with Chairman Kevin McCarthy agreed to allow the companies to move forward after meeting with the Chairman
The gang of 11 who withheld votes last week over frustrations with Chairman Kevin McCarthy agreed to allow business to proceed after meeting with the chairman.
Conservatives had blocked a typically unremarkable rule vote on gas stove legislation, which would block the Biden administration from regulating the kitchen appliance, last week.
In addition to being upset about the debt deal, they were angry over a claim by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Va., that leaders threatened to delay his resolution to overturn the splint rule gun on his “no” vote on the debt limit agreement rule.
Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters Tuesday morning that the impasse was over “for now” but “everything is on the table,” including blocking ordinary spending bills like the Authorization Act. National Defense (NDAA) which funds the Pentagon.
The new spending announcement appeared to sideline conservative opposition for the time being. Gaetz insisted he wanted a ‘power-sharing deal’ with McCarthy to be ‘renegotiated’
Appropriations Chair Kay Granger announced she would advance spending bills capped at fiscal 2022 levels — rather than the 2023 levels agreed to in the debt deal brokered by President Biden and McCarthy.
All of those cuts would be on the nondefense side — leaving defense at $886 billion in the negotiated deal — and leading to even bigger cuts to nondefense appropriations — about $159 billion below fiscal year 2023.
But Granger pledged to claw back some $115 billion in funds previously allocated but not yet spent to offset falling spending levels.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., expressed skepticism about the plan.
“Many of us who are concerned about spending worry that this is a budget gimmick and not real reform,” he told reporters.
He said the appropriations committee must “mark true 2022 spending levels and not exceed that and then hope to get some write-offs.”
Still, the new spending announcement appeared to sideline conservative opposition for the time being.
Gaetz insisted he wanted a “power-sharing deal” with McCarthy to be “renegotiated” so that McCarthy would appeal more to conservative Republicans than Democrats.
Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters Tuesday morning the standoff was over ‘for now’ but ‘everything is on the table’, including blocking regular spending bills like the Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which funds the Pentagon.
Photo of an MCK gun mount
The debt deal angered hardliners because it drew more votes from House Democrats than Republicans — but it needed Democratic approval to go through the Senate.
But Majority Leader Steve Scalise seemed convinced that tougher spending caps would appease hardliners.
“It’s all about spending,” he told reporters.
But appropriations bills must be able to pass through a Democratic-led Senate. If House Republicans propose bills that do not exceed the agreed caps, it could either create a clash with the Senate which authorizes the government shutdown, or allow the owners of the Senate to offer their own bills of bipartisan spending that reaches the spending caps. .
Congress must pass the 12 spending bills separately, as McCarthy promised to pursue, or make an omnibus spending program or rolling short-term resolution before the start of the new fiscal year — Oct. 1.
If the two chambers fail to reach a timely agreement, the nation could find itself in a situation similar to the deadlock over the debt limit, hitting a deadline that would trigger a government shutdown.
