Rep. Tom Suozzi says Democrats left out of House spending plan

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom Suozzi (D- Glen Cove), appearing on CBS News’ "Face the Nation" on Sunday criticized House Republican leaders for proposing a short-term federal government spending bill without Democratic input.

Despite Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, Suozzi said, they will likely need some level of Democratic support to pass a bill this week to avert a partial government shutdown before funding runs out Friday. House Republicans hold a razor-thin majority and can only afford one defection to pass the bill. Senate Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber, short of the 60 votes required for bill passage.

"I think the leadership is going to try and do ‘my way or the highway’ for a while, and at some point they’re going to need Democratic votes, and then people start negotiating," Suozzi said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday released a 99-page temporary spending package — also known as a Continuing Resolution — that would fund the federal government through Sept. 30. The package calls for a $6 billion boost in defense spending, but a $13 billion cut in non-defense spending, including eliminating so-called "earmarks" requested by lawmakers for community projects in their districts.

President Donald Trump on Saturday urged congressional Republicans to rally behind the bill, saying in a post on Truth Social: "All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week."

House Democratic leaders including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), the House Minority Leader, said they will not support the current bill, because it "recklessly cuts health care, nutritional assistance and $23 billion in veterans benefits."

Johnson previously relied on Democrat votes to pass another short-term spending bill and negotiated with Democrats when factions of his own party, including the conservative House Freedom Caucus, threatened to derail previous spending packages with their ‘no’ votes. But buoyed by Trump’s victory, and the president’s command over the party, Johnson appears to be pushing ahead with a plan he believes can be passed solely along partisan lines.

Suozzi appeared on the Sunday morning show alongside Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (D-Pa.) Both lawmakers serve as co-chairs of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, and called for a bipartisan approach.

"Wouldn’t it be better if we all just work together and try to find common ground," Suozzi said. "The idea of a full year continuing resolution is not the normal process, and there’s a lot of bad stuff that I see in this bill that I don’t like."

Fitzpatrick added: "You never, ever want to shut the government down. It should never happen."

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.