House ends threat of government shutdown, for time being

Bringing a tense debate to a quiet close, the House approved legislation Tuesday to fund the government and replenish disaster aid into next month, ending for now the threat of a government shutdown.

The House voted 352 to 66 to fund the government through Nov. 18. At that time, Congress is expected to be at a standoff again as conservative Republicans push for deeper cuts and policy changes that will run into resistance from Democrats.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday he was confident an agreement could be reached in the weeks ahead on a new spending plan.

Boehner has been forced this year to rely on Democrats to help pass spending measures that have faced resistance from conservatives in the House majority. On Tuesday, 53 Republicans voted no. The Senate has already passed the measure, and President Obama was expected to quickly sign it.

“We need to keep the doors of the government open,” said Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, during the floor debate. “Our economy can’t handle the instability that comes from the threat of a government shutdown.”

But already, new GOP spending proposals to keep the government running past Nov. 18 cut deeply into health and education programs that are dear to Democrats. They also would eliminate funds for family planning clinics, National Public Radio and other programs long targeted by Republicans.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, predicted that such an approach would not win Democratic votes.

“Republicans have constructed a very difficult place for themselves,” Hoyer said.

After a year of protracted budget battles, the debate over fiscal 2012 spending was supposed to be settled as part of the agreement reached this summer during the debt ceiling debate. That compromise set the overall spending level for the year and provided for additional disaster aid.

But several conservative Republicans, many of whom did not support that agreement, are continuing to press for steeper cuts. They also will press for any new disaster aid to be offset with reductions elsewhere.

“We’ve got to do better than this,” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a conservative leader, who voted against the bill Tuesday.

They hope the bipartisan congressional “super committee” on deficit reduction will cut further into 2012 spending levels as part of its mission to slash $1.5 trillion from federal deficits over the next decade.

Yet the prospect of reopening the debate on fiscal 2012 spending seems unlikely. The committee already faces an uphill climb to accomplish its goal. The panel, which has been meeting behind closed doors, faces a Nov. 23 deadline for recommending cuts.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com