(Image Source: YouTube / JohnBoehner)

EVAN BUSH

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Deja Vu in Washington? The House failed to pass a temporary spending bill that would fund disaster relief and keep the government up and running. Fox News explains:

“There's a growing debate over funding for FEMA, the federal emergency management agency and it's complicating efforts to pass a bill to keep the government running through next month... government shutdown. I thought we dealt with that a little while ago but those two words are hanging over this discussion.” (Fox News)

At issue -- appropriating money for disaster relief following the recent wave of natural disasters. The New York Times says this illustrates just how contentious Washington has become:

“The unexpected outcome illustrated how the intense fiscal fights of recent months had transformed the politics of disaster relief, which in the past has typically been rushed out of Congress with strong backing from both parties.”

CNN reports the impasse was a surprise to Republican leaders and explains why the bill didn’t pass:

“Democrats are not happy with the amount of funding for FEMA. They are also not happy that house Republican leaders are demanding some of the money be off set, being paid for from a program called job creator. It helps to make more fuel efficient vehicles. On the other side, there's a big group of House conservative Republicans not happy with the overall number. They say it doesn't cut spending enough.”

Politico writes this should be the easy part, and the discord previews more budget conflict ahead:

“Wednesday’s collapse of a stopgap spending bill in the House is less about a government shutdown than an early warning of just how hard it will be to implement the August budget accords.”

But try telling that to House Speaker John Boehner, whom the The Los Angeles Times writes told reporters there’s no chance of a government shutdown. He says he might be willing to compromise.

“House Republican leaders are considering dropping or changing their requirement that disaster aid be paid for with spending cuts elsewhere … Republican leaders are scrambling to make the legislation more palatable to Democrats, whose votes GOP will need to pass the bill.”

The Washington Post reports the Senate voted to spend $7 billion on emergency disaster relief over the next year. Funding will expire on September 30.


Transcript by Newsy.