McCarthy pitches combining funding bills into 'minibus' amid GOP spending fights

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday pitched House Republicans on a “minibus” of government funding bills as a way to move forward on appropriations as tensions in the conference threaten a government shutdown.

The plan, according to members who emerged from a GOP Conference meeting Wednesday morning, would be to package the regular appropriations bills covering military construction and Veteran’s Affairs (MilCon-VA), the Pentagon, and the Department of Homeland Security along with disaster relief funding.

The MilCon-VA bill passed the House before the August recess, and leaders scheduled the Pentagon appropriations bill for floor action this week.

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark) said that the plan is “trying to get the conference to coalesce around something that we can all come to agreement on.”

“We ought to be able to do this post haste and move in a positive direction. It also sends a signal to the Senate that we're serious about what we're doing and we have some solutions,” Womack said. 

It is unclear whether House conservatives who have been pushing for lower spending levels would accept the plan. Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said he is still looking for agreement on overall top line spending levels before agreeing to a spending plan. 

DEVELOPING.