House to Consider Extending Stopgap Funding to March 11

WASHINGTON — The House is poised to take up a stopgap funding measure aimed at keeping the government open through March 11 and giving congressional negotiators more time to strike a deal that would fund it through the rest of the year.

The current continuing resolution is set to expire Feb. 18.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced H.R. 6617, the Further Extending Government Funding Act, Monday afternoon and said she expected it to be considered by the chamber as early as tomorrow.

“Our country needs a government funding agreement to create good-paying jobs, grow opportunities for the middle class, and protect our national security,” DeLauro said in a written statement.

Asserting that negotiators are “close” to reaching “a framework government funding agreement,” DeLauro said, “This continuing resolution — the product of bipartisan, bicameral negotiation — extends funding through March 11 to keep the government up and running while Congress completes our important work.”

Monday’s moves were not unexpected.

In a floor schedule sent to members on Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office said, “The House will act on FY 2022 appropriations, hopefully on an omnibus bill, but we will not allow the government to shut down.”

In an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show,” Hoyer reiterated that message, telling host Jonathan Capehart a vote was coming soon.

“We’re gonna get something done, it’ll probably be a short-term [continuing resolution] and it will be this coming week to give us a little more time,” the majority leader said.

“Negotiations are very vigorous and I think that we’re going to get agreement both on the top line — how much spending is going to be in [it] — and how it will be spent,” he added.

“But it’s not there yet, so I expect to do a continuing resolution to continue the authorization for government to operate and be funded this coming week,” Hoyer said.

If H.R. 6617 passes, it will be the third stopgap funding bill adopted since the fiscal year began in October.

In addition to continuing the funding of the government into early March, the bill also provides  $350 million in funding to address water contamination from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii.

Built by the United States during World War II, the Red Hill facility on the island of Oahu stores jet propellant, aviation turbine and marine diesel fuel in bulk underground storage tanks. Of the 20 storage tanks on the site, 14 currently contain fuel and each tank has a storage capacity of 12.5 million gallons. 

The facility has a history of fuel leaks, including one in November that led to contaminated drinking water in the surrounding community. 

The state of Hawaii has ordered the facility closed, leading to a lawsuit from the U.S. Navy.

A section-by-section summary of H.R. 6617 can be found here. The full text of the legislation is here.

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