Senate Republicans raised concerns about a White House offer to use a one-year stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown starting in October if negotiators fail to reach a larger budget deal.
Sen. Dave Perdue (R-Ga.) spearheaded a letter from 16 Republican senators Wednesday warning that a one-year continuing resolution (CR) would include “draconian conditions” for the military.
“As the world continues to become more dangerous, the American people rightfully expect their representatives in Washington to put aside political differences and do their jobs. Simply put, our adversaries do not handcuff their militaries with funding gimmicks like continuing resolutions—nor should we,” the senators wrote.
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The letter was sent to Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinThe Hill’s Morning Report – Sanders falters as rivals rise On The Money: House Democrats sue Treasury for Trump tax returns | Trump announces Fed board nominees | Dems press Carson over HUD hire who authored controversial posts on race | Consumer groups look to block Facebook cryptocurrency The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Democrats take Trump tax return fight to the courts MORE, acting chief of staff Mick MulvaneyJohn (Mick) Michael MulvaneyHouse Democrats slam White House’s ‘complete refusal’ to turn over hurricane probe documents Democrats press Carson after HUD hires aide who authored racist blog posts The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump touts handshake with Kim, tariff freeze with Xi MORE and acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, who have led the budget talks for the White House.
Negotiators hope to reach a deal to raise the caps for defense and nondefense spending. But as a Plan B, Mnuchin has offered linking a debt ceiling increase to a one-year CR, which would freeze spending at fiscal 2019 levels.
But Republican senators wrote in the letter that “must be avoided” because it would leave the Defense Department “incapable of increasing readiness, recapitalizing our force, or rationalizing funding to align with the National Defense Strategy.”
In addition to Perdue, Republican Sens. Marsha BlackburnMarsha Blackburn 2020 Democrats accelerate push for action to secure elections House passes sweeping Democrat-backed election security bill Pelosi: Congress will receive election security briefing in July MORE (Tenn.), Bill CassidyWilliam (Bill) Morgan CassidyLaura Ingraham says her family won’t wear Nike again after ‘Betsy Ross flag’ sneaker canceled GOP sen: Democrats talking about ‘Medicare for All’ shows they’re unhappy with ObamaCare The Hill’s Morning Report – Democratic debates: Miami nice or spice? MORE (La.), John CornynJohn CornynGOP senator threatens to change banks after Bank of America cuts ties with detention centers Political interference at DOJ threatens the rule of law, and Congress needs to act Democrats plot strategy to win back Senate MORE (Texas), Kevin CramerKevin John CramerTrump urged to quickly fill Pentagon post amid Iran tensions The Hill’s Morning Report — Trump pushes Mexico for ‘significantly more’ as tariffs loom Overnight Health Care: Liberals rip Democratic leaders for writing drug pricing bill in secret | Dems demand answers from company that shelters migrant kids | Measles cases top 1,000 MORE (N.D.), Mike CrapoMichael (Mike) Dean CrapoDemocrats leery of Sanders plan to cancel student loan debt Senate Finance leaders in talks on deal to limit drug price increases House panel to hold hearing on Facebook cryptocurrency project MORE (Idaho), Joni ErnstJoni Kay ErnstHillicon Valley: Trump gets pushback after reversing course on Huawei | China installing surveillance apps on visitors’ phones | Internet provider Cloudflare suffers outage | Consumer groups look to stop Facebook cryptocurrency Ernst’s Democratic challenger raises more than 5K in under a month GOP senators press Pompeo on Boeing satellite sales to Chinese firms MORE (Iowa), James InhofeJames (Jim) Mountain InhofeWhite House faces time crunch with Trump’s top Pentagon pick Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief wins allies on Capitol Hill Senate rejects attempt to curb Trump’s Iran war powers MORE (Okla.), Johnny IsaksonJohn (Johnny) Hardy IsaksonVA chief pressed on efforts to prevent veteran suicides Senators revive effort to create McCain human rights commission Senate passes disaster aid bill after deal with Trump MORE (Ga.), James LankfordJames Paul LankfordThe Hill’s Morning Report – Trump touts handshake with Kim, tariff freeze with Xi 2020 Democrats accelerate push for action to secure elections House passes sweeping Democrat-backed election security bill MORE (Okla.), Jerry MoranGerald (Jerry) MoranTrade truce puts focus on next steps in US-China talks Overnight Defense: Senate rejects effort to restrict Trump on Iran | Democrats at debate vow to shore up NATO | Senate confirms chief of Space Command On The Money: Anticipation builds for Trump, Xi sitdown | Pressure on Trump for trade breakthrough | Democrats at debate rip Trump approach to China MORE (Kan.), Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiHouse bill targets use of Pentagon networks for child pornography Internal cracks emerge in GOP strategy to avoid shutdown What’s Putin up to in the Arctic? MORE (Alaska), Pat RobertsCharles (Pat) Patrick RobertsFormer US attorney announces Senate bid in Kansas GOP lawmakers press Trump to cut deal with China at G-20 EPA exempts farms from reporting pollution tied to animal waste MORE (Kan.), Mike RoundsMarion (Mike) Michael RoundsHillicon Valley: Harris spikes in Google searches after debate clash with Biden | Second US city blocks facial recognition | Apple said to be moving Mac Pro production from US to China | Bipartisan Senate bill takes aim at ‘deepfake’ videos Senators unveil bipartisan bill to target ‘deepfake’ video threat Senate set to vote on Trump’s power to attack Iran MORE (S.D.), Thom TillisThomas (Thom) Roland TillisTrump to hold campaign rally on day of Mueller testimony The Hill’s Campaign Report: Debate puts Biden on the defensive Democrats plot strategy to win back Senate MORE (N.C.) and Roger WickerRoger Frederick WickerHillicon Valley: Democratic state AGs sue to block T-Mobile-Sprint merger | House kicks off tech antitrust probe | Maine law shakes up privacy debate | Senators ask McConnell to bring net neutrality to a vote Lawmakers demand answers on Border Patrol data breach Senators call on McConnell to bring net neutrality rules to a vote MORE (Miss) signed the letter.
Inhofe is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, the Senate panel with primary jurisdiction of the military. Ernst, Cornyn and Tillis, like Perdue, are each up for reelection next year in closely watched Senate races.
The letter is the latest sign of division about what the party’s back up plan should be as budget negotiations drag on.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell urges Nike to release ‘Betsy Ross’ shoes: ‘I’ll make the first order’ GOP sees potent Trump attack line: health care for immigrants Democratic group raises more than .1 million against McConnell MORE (R-Ky.) told reporters before the July 4 recess that a one-year continuing resolution was “unacceptable,” while Sen. John ThuneJohn Randolph ThuneInternal cracks emerge in GOP strategy to avoid shutdown GOP lawmakers press Trump to cut deal with China at G-20 Senate rejects attempt to curb Trump’s Iran war powers MORE (S.D.), the No. 2 Republican senator, told The Hill that a CR was an outcome that he didn’t think “anybody wants to see that happen.”
Perdue told The Hill on Friday that he had discussed funding the government with Trump, who he characterized as “concerned about it as well.” Perdue said that he plans to speak again to the president to outline his concerns about a one-year CR.
Republicans blame a stalemate between Democrats and the White House for the holdup in getting a budget deal.
Without an agreement, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyBorder aid fallout tests Pelosi-Schumer relationship The Hill’s Morning Report – Trump touts handshake with Kim, tariff freeze with Xi Internal cracks emerge in GOP strategy to avoid shutdown MORE (R-Ala.) wants to start moving funding bills that are based off a Senate-only agreement, though the legislation would need to be adjusted if they get a deal.
But McConnell appeared to pour cold water on that option last week, saying he wants to write funding bills based off numbers he knows the president will support.
“I support getting some kind of deal that can tell us how much we can spend so we can go forward. The only thing, however, that strikes me that give us a real number to mark to is one that we know the president will sign,” McConnell told reporters during a press conference.