Senate Passes Bill To Fix D.C. Funding Cut

WASHINGTON ― The Senate on Friday unanimously approved a bill to fix one of the harshest provisions of the government funding bill that the Senate just sent to the president’s desk to avert a government shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Friday afternoon that senators had reached a bipartisan agreement to undo legislative language that would force the D.C. government to cut $1 billion from its budget over the next six months, potentially causing mass layoffs of teachers and firefighters.

The Senate adopted the bill unanimously, without a roll call vote or even a single senator yelling “nay” in a voice vote.

Senate Appropriations Committee chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the House included the cuts to D.C. government in the funding bill by mistake, and that the new bill would correct the error.

“This bill would simply fix a mistake in the House [continuing resolution] that prevents the District of Columbia from spending its own tax dollars,” Collins said.

Schumer said the followup bill would protect D.C. residents from police layoffs.

“It will support law enforcement and firefighters and teachers and city services. The legislation is very good news for the residents of the District of Columbia,” Schumer said.

The D.C. fix still needs to be approved by the House, however, and that chamber is not scheduled to return to Washington for votes until March 24. It’s not clear if House Republicans will embrace the measure, but no lawmaker has exactly championed the cut to the District’s budget, particularly since it became apparent it was put in by mistake.

“I don’t know what they saw,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a former House member, told HuffPost on Friday. He seemed a bit befuddled by the provision, even as he expressed skepticism that the city spent its money wisely.

A bipartisan bill shielding D.C. from a pointless cut ― which wouldn’t save the federal government any money ― is something of a win for Schumer, who has been battered by members of his own party. On Wednesday, he said Democrats would filibuster the broader funding bill, then on Thursday said he himself would support it, prompting a backlash among his fellow Democrats.

“I’m happy we’re passing the bill today. I thank my colleagues for working quickly to bring this bill to the floor,” Schumer said. “Once the Senate acts, we urge the House to act quickly.”

A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.