US House approves first 2024 spending bill, delays a second

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the first of 12 fiscal 2024 spending measures that Congress must enact by Sept. 30 or risk a government shutdown, but Republican infighting over spending levels clouded the path ahead for the other bills.
The House voted 219-211 to approve the $155.7 billion military construction and veterans affairs bill, forwarding it to the Democratic-led Senate, which has already crafted its own version of the legislation.
House Republican leaders had expected to pass two spending bills ahead of a six-week August recess. But disagreements over spending between Republican hardline conservatives and moderates forced them to delay consideration of a $25.3 billion spending bill covering agriculture, rural development and the Food and Drug Administration until September.
House lawmakers, who began departing Washington on Thursday, were due to return on Sept. 12, leaving them only three weeks to enact the remaining 11 appropriations bills and hammer out compromises with the Senate before current funding expires on Sept. 30.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy brushed aside questions about the delay, telling reporters that Republicans would ultimately pass all 12 appropriations bills on time.