GOP rebellion takes shape around short-term spending bill

Although the measure must be passed in order to avert a government shutdown, some Republicans are frustrated because they say the bill does not go far enough in terms of spending cuts, and because it does not include controversial riders to defund the health law and Planned Parenthood.

The Wall Street Journal: Spending Bill Breeds Dissent In GOP Ranks
Republican leaders say they share the frustration of lawmakers who want significant spending cuts. But they also want to avoid a partial government shutdown and accuse Democrats of not negotiating seriously. …  Some Republicans are also unhappy that the three-week spending bill does not include "riders," measures that are designed to advance policy goals rather than simply cut spending. Reps. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) and Steve King (R., Iowa), for example, vow to oppose any spending measure that does not de-fund President Barack Obama's health overhaul (Bendavid, 3/15).

Los Angeles Times: Resistance To Second Stopgap Spending Deal Rises In Congress
More Republicans and Democrats are showing resistance to a second stopgap spending measure to avert a government shutdown, complicating the political climate before votes scheduled this week. … Republicans also are upset that the temporary measures do not advance their policy priorities — to defund the national health care law championed by President Obama, cut off Planned Parenthood and gut the Environmental Protection Agency. All of those objectives were included in the earlier House-passed bill, which was rejected last week by the Democratic-controlled Senate (Mascaro, 3/15).

Politico: GOP Rebellion Threatens Spending Proposal
House Republican leaders are facing a rebellion in their ranks from conservatives who say they won't vote for the next three-week spending bill — in part, because it doesn't contain the House-passed riders to defund the health care law and Planned Parenthood. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was one of two members who announced Monday they would vote against the bill Tuesday, along with South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan. Jordan said that's partly because it cuts spending only in "bite-sized pieces," but also because "we need to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, and we need to defund Obamacare" (Nather, 3/14).

Fox News: Rogers Says House Cannot Revoke Health Care Funds As Bachman And King Demand
At the House Rules Committee Monday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-K., told his colleagues that it is impossible to "defund" the $105 billion in mandatory spending approved for the health care law that Reps. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. and Steve King, R-Iowa, are demanding (Pergram, 3/14).

Politico: Steve King Seeks Maximum 'Leverage' To Stop Reform
Rep. Steve King says House Republicans should stick together and vote against any long-term spending agreement that doesn't block funding for President Barack Obama's health care law — even if it leads to a government shutdown. And if that doesn't work, he says, they should try it again when it's time to raise the debt ceiling this spring (Nather, 3/14).