No Federal Funding CR Without DOGE Guardrails - Passed House

UPDATE (03/11/25): The House has passed the GOP continuing resolution with a narrow 217-213 vote. The legislation now moves to the Senate where Republicans will now need 8 Democrats to vote in favor of the measure since GOP Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has made clear he will vote no.

Funding for the federal government is set to expire on Friday, March 14th, setting up a tight deadline for Congress to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown. While the regular congressional order of funding the government typically involves appropriations bills for individual sectors, it has become commonplace for Congress to pass a CR as a stopgap. Sometimes the CR is “clean” and simply maintains current funding terms, and sometimes it includes negotiated changes.

To fund the government for the remainder of the 2025 fiscal year, Speaker Mike Johnson has laid out a CR that increases defense and ICE spending by $6 billion and cuts non-defense spending by $13 billion. The non-defense programs subject to cuts include bipartisan-approved funding for FEMA, the Small Business Administration, clean water projects, grants for health care facilities and equipment, and 70+ programs dedicated to helping children and families. The CR also maintains a freeze on $20 billion in IRS funding and includes an aggressive power grab over Washington D.C., effectively cancelling its $21 billion budget and turning it into a federal agency.

The debate over a CR comes at a time when unelected billionaire Elon Musk and his faux DOGE agency have commandeered control over the federal government’s workforce and spending. Little has been done to enforce current laws and court orders to stop this illegal hijacking. Congress must take advantage of this must-pass CR to install necessary, enforceable guardrails on DOGE and regain their constitutional power of the purse. While the CR can pass the House without any votes from Democrats, it will need support from 7 Democratic Senators to reach the required 60 votes to pass the Senate.