House Republicans will, evidently, vote on a border bill before leaving town for the August recess, however the bill they’ve unveiled is a little more than one sixth of what President Obama requested.
Republicans hope to pass $659 million in supplemental spending for the border crisis before leaving for the August recess, Speaker John A. Boehner said after a GOP conference meeting Tuesday. [...]
Two-thirds of the funding will be for border security, with $40 million going to prevention and the balance going to humanitarian assistance, according to a GOP aide. It will run through Sept. 30.
As you probably recall, President Obama submitted a request for $3.7 billion which would take care of the problem for the remainder of the year.
It’s not clear if the bill will actually pass the House if it’s brought up for a vote on Thursday because, according to other reports, this tiny bill includes other demands Republicans have made such as changes to DACA and human trafficking laws.
These changes reduce the chances that House Democrats will vote for the bill and there are some conservatives who don’t want to pass a bill at all.
Regardless of whether their temporary extension passes, we’ll be having the same conversation two months from now and, next time, it could be tied to a continuing resolution that funds the entire government.
I don’t think we’re headed for another government shutdown, but I do expect a heaping pile of negative press for the Republican party between August and November.
Congress will leave town on Thursday night.