Biden issues pair of veto threats over GOP appropriations bills: ‘Wasting time’

President Joe Biden has issued a pair of appropriations veto threats amid a looming government shutdown.

Biden’s Office of Management and Budget said the president will veto H.R. 5893 and H.R. 5894 should they reach his desk. Both have the backing of House Republicans.

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“House Republicans had an opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process, but instead are wasting time with partisan bills that cut domestic spending to levels well below the Fiscal Responsibility Act agreement and endanger critical services for the American people,” the OMB statement said of the bills.

“These levels would result in deep cuts to clean energy programs and other programs that work to combat climate change, essential nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, education, and healthcare,” the statement continued.

H.R. 5894 makes appropriations for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, as well as related agencies for the next fiscal year. The other bill, H.R. 5893, makes appropriations for the departments of Commerce, Justice, and “Science.”

The bills seek cuts from the Inflation Reduction Act, a spending bill passed last year that Republicans have universally criticized. The White House said those cuts would “result in unacceptable harm to clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives that lower energy costs and other critical investments in rural America.”

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The White House also charges that the bills would threaten the health and safety of the LGBT community, hinder climate change initiatives, and prevent the Biden administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“The administration stands ready to engage with both chambers of the Congress in a bipartisan appropriations process to enact responsible spending bills that fully fund federal agencies in a timely manner,” the statement said. “If the president were presented with H.R. 5893/5894, he would veto it.”