Congress passed a stopgap funding measure this week to avert a government shutdown until February.
Republicans and Democrats have not been able to agree on the 12 spending bills that typically fund the federal government. Many representatives feared voting on them all at once—a so-called omnibus bill—would inevitably cause them to vote for items they disagree with.
Republican Congressman Moore, whose district includes northern Summit County, supports the stopgap bill because it avoids the all-or-nothing omnibus before the holidays.
“We're trying to push it past that. So we can actually, you know, focus on the bill and the merits of what those bills will be,” Moore said.
There are two funding deadlines now: money for veterans and other programs would dry up Jan. 19, and defense and other departmental funds would end Feb. 2.
The stopgap measure doesn’t include the $106 billion the White House requested in wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine.
However, the U.S. House of Representatives did pass a $14 billion aid package for Israel in its war against Hamas. In part because it also includes cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, Pres. Biden has promised to veto it, and the Democratic majority in the Senate doesn’t support it either.
Moore voted for the aid package Nov. 2.
He was also among members of Congress who attended a closed-door screening of 45 minutes of body camera, closed-circuit television and cell phone footage of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel this week.
“I saw footage just Tuesday morning that—I'll never be the same,” he told KPCW.
The Israel Defense Forces showed Congress the footage, which it also showed in October to journalists, who reported it contained graphic evidence of Hamas’ war crimes.
The civilian death toll on both sides continues to rise as the IDF advances farther south in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’ attack, which Israel estimated killed 1,200. Hamas also took more than 200 hostages, two of whom were found dead.
According to the Washington Post, Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates 11,000 Palestinian civilians—one out of every 200—have died in Israel’s ground and bombing campaign.
There are calls for a ceasefire, but Moore is not in favor of one right now. He says the goal is to create peace.
“Every single innocent Palestinian life loss is tragic. Every Israeli life loss is tragic,” he said. “And a ceasefire right now is not something that can ever create peace.”
Moore’s star is rising in Washington, despite months of intense debate over legislation and leadership.
After the historic ouster of Speaker Mike McCarthy, Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson has taken up the gavel. Moore has taken Johnson’s former position as vice chair of the House Republican Conference, essentially fifth-in-command among House Republicans.
He’s been an outspoken critic of fellow Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the vote to oust McCarthy.
“It's tough, and there's a lot of personalities there in the conference. But we've got to find a way to move forward,” Moore said.
Congress is entering a week-long recess for Thanksgiving, and will go into a prolonged recess Dec. 16 for the holidays.
