The House on Wednesday evening easily passed legislation that would cut much non-defense federal spending over the next two years in exchange for extending U.S. money-borrowing authority.
For fiscal year 2024, the “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023,” would cap defense discretionary spending roughly at President Joe Biden’s (D) requested level of about $886 billion. That category includes the Department of Energy’s defense nuclear programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Office of Environmental Management.
The bill, negotiated by Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Joe Biden (D) now heads to the Senate. There, as in the House, it faces resistance from the right and left fringes of the two parties.
However, the House ultimately passed the measure on a wide bipartisan vote of 314-117. Among House Republicans, 149 supported the bill and 71 opposed it. Among House Democrats 165 voted for the bill while 46 voted against it.
The Senate had not scheduled a vote as of Thursday morning. In the upper chamber, Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) supports the deal.
