Speaker Mike Johnson is warning that the House and Senate could be at an \u2018impasse\u2019 on government funding if the Democrat-controlled chamber tries to force the House GOP to bringing dense multi-subject spending bills to the House floor.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019ve sent appropriations bills over to the Senate and they have done nothing with them. Ultimately, we are going to be in a conference committee working out final agreements and all these things, but we are hopeful that the Senate will do their job,\u2019 Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview<\/p>\n
The House has passed five of 12 individual spending bills that together will fund the government in the next fiscal year. They\u2019re slated to consider three more this week.<\/p>\n
None have come for a vote in the Senate, where Democrats have lambasted Republicans for writing spending bills at a lower level than what was agreed to under the bipartisan debt limit deal. However, Senate appropriators announced a bipartisan deal last week to combine three spending bills into a \u2018minibus.\u2019<\/p>\n
Johnson told Fox News Digital the House and Senate were \u2018going to be at an impasse\u2019 if Schumer sent a minibus or an omnibus to the House rather than taking up the 12 individual spending bills.<\/p>\n
\u2018We are committed to returning to regular order, and that means\u202612 separate appropriations bills. And I think that people are with us on that,\u2019 Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Last year the Democratically-held Congress funded the government with one large omnibus spending bill, something a majority of Republicans oppose.<\/p>\n
\u2018The problem with omnibus and minibus spending bills is that it\u2019s irresponsible\u2026 Too much money is spent, there\u2019s often not enough accountability for it. And the American people are not able to adequately follow how their [money] is being spent. And we have to change that,\u2019 Johnson said.<\/p>\n
\u2018We owe that to the people, to restore some sort of common sense in this process and allow the citizens that we represent to be able to follow and understand what\u2019s happening here.\u2019<\/p>\n
Congress passed a short-term extension of last year\u2019s fiscal priorities, known as a continuing resolution (CR) on Sept. 30, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown. That funding expires on Nov. 17.<\/p>\n
Johnson suggested he would not bring another so-called \u2018clean\u2019 CR but said the details of what House Republicans would need to add are still up in the air.<\/p>\n
\u2018We haven\u2019t gotten there yet. Those discussions will begin in earnest this week,\u2019 he said of how to fit conservative priorities into a short-term spending bill. \u2018I don\u2019t want to put any markers out there yet, there are lots of ideas on the table.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018But I think at the end of the day, what we\u2019re trying to do is ensure that obviously the government remains in operation, but we do it in a fiscally responsible manner. And we cannot just print and borrow money and spend it anymore. We\u2019re past that,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
The three spending bills House Republicans are looking to pass this week fund the Department of Interior, the legislative branch and transportation along with Housing and Urban Development.<\/p>\n