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By Andrew Stanton
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What's New
Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, said he hopes funding for pediatric cancer research is added back to the spending bill as Congress scrambles to pass a bill to fund the government on Friday.
Why It Matters
House Republicans unveiled a stripped down version of their spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, Thursday evening that cut several spending programs from the bill, including the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program.
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Republicans' decision to cut the funds quickly sparked a wave of backlash, with critics arguing the program provides crucial research that saves the lives of children with cancer. Others, however, say the funding should be passed in a standalone bill, rather than part of the larger spending package.
Meanwhile, it's yet to be seen whether Congress can come together and pass a spending bill. Congress voted on the scaled back bill Thursday night but failed to garner two-thirds support needed to pass the bill without going through the rules committee. Most Democrats voted against it, as well as several fiscally conservative Republicans concerned about raising the debt ceiling.
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What to Know
Doggett, in an interview with CNN Friday morning, said he wants the funding, as well as some other bipartisan programs cut from the original package, back in the spending bill.
"The pain and anguish on the basis of families that face a child threatened by death and disability from cancer, that was a reasonable provision we got Republicans to agree on. Some funding for community health centers. And I hope that can be included in the bill. Those are the kind of programs that some want to cut to find tax cuts for those at the top," the Texas Democrat said.
The program was established in 2014 in honor of Miller, a 10-year-old girl who died from cancer in 2013. A 10-year fund in her honor was created in 2014, according to a statement by Representative Jennifer Wexton and Senator Tim Kaine, both Virginia Democrats.
The funding was in the initial CR introduced earlier this week. However, that spending bill sparked the ire of Elon Musk, a close ally to President-elect Donald Trump and the world's richest man, who opposed the spending measures in the bill. Trump sided with Musk over Johnson on the bill, sinking its chances of passing.
A standalone bill on the funding passed the House in March, but has not been brought to a vote in the Senate.
Newsweek reached out to Johnson's office for comment via email.
What People Are Saying
Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat who chairs the appropriations committee, to MSNBC: "I'm ready to stay here through Christmas because we're not going to let Elon Musk run the government. Put simply, we should not let an unelected billionaire rip away research for pediatric cancer so he can get a tax cut or tear down policies that help America outcompete China because it could hurt his bottom line."
Andrew Bates, White House senior deputy press secretary: "The @HouseGOP is suddenly throwing out historic investments to fight pediatric cancer, including new requirements on Pharma - the Give Kids a Chance Act. Why? Because the richest man in the world had a whim. That is the exact opposite of standing up to the establishment."
Greg Price, Trump 2024 staffer, on X: "You know that $190M of funding for pediatric cancer research that Democrats have spent the last day on their high horse about with the CR? Turns out it passed the Republican led House as a stand-alone bill last March but went nowhere in Chuck Schumer's Senate."
What Happens Next
The House could vote on the CR on Friday. It would need two-thirds of Congress to pass, meaning it can't pass without some Democratic support. Only two Democrats, Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Kathy Castor of Florida, voted for it Thursday.
If they cannot pass a spending package by Friday night, the government will shut down less than a week before Christmas.
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