Pence Is Right: 'It's Time to Pick a Fight' on Spending

House GOP leaders are facing the prospect of a conservative revolt if they forge ahead with another stopgap measure to fund the federal government. In recent days, a growing number of conservatives have said it’s time to square off with Democrats rather than delay the inevitable.

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“It’s time to pick a fight,” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) declared at the House Republican Conference meeting.

Barring an intervention by President Obama or sudden turn of events in the Democrat-controlled Senate, the situation leaves House Republicans with a tough choice. The current continuing resolution expires on March 18.

With conservatives opposed to another short-term spending bill, GOP leaders are treading carefully. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has maintained it’s up to the Senate to act on H.R. 1, the House-passed legislation that funds the government through Sept. 30.

When asked about the prospect of another short-term spending bill, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) placed the blame on the White House, but also declined to rule out another stopgap measure:

My hope would be that we could resolve things, keep the government open and cut spending. The short-term stopgap measures have been available so that we don’t shut the government down, and I think all options are still on the table right now, because we haven’t seen where the White House is.

Despite the growing opposition among conservatives, House appropriators are already in the process of drafting another short-term continuing resolution. But unlike the two-week extension adopted last week, the new plan faces greater scrutiny among conservatives.

“It’s fine to make some first downs, but eventually you need to get into the end zone,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. “That means achieving much greater savings for the American taxpayer this year and enacting some of the important policy positions the House included in H.R. 1.”

Only six Republicans opposed the two-week continuing resolution, which cut spending by $4 billion. Two of those lawmakers are making a vocal case against another stopgap measure.

Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) favor H.R. 1 because it defunds Obamacare and Planned Parenthood as well as enacts other policy riders adopted by the House. Also at stake: $61 billion in spending cuts.

Pence’s fighting words are a good indication that Republican leaders won’t have the support of other conservatives as well. As a former Republican Study Committee chairman and a member of GOP leadership in the last Congress, Pence can influence fellow lawmakers.

Conservatives argue that avoiding a fight over H.R. 1 weakens the GOP’s hand. It also avoids the inevitable fight between the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate.

“This is just a start,” Pence said on Fox News. “We have to win in this small battle if we’re going to win in the big battles that lie ahead on debt ceiling, on budget, and on fundamental government reform.”