Congressional leaders said Tuesday morning that they had reached an agreement on the final package of spending bills to fund the federal government through the fall, although it was unclear whether they could pass it in time to avert a brief partial shutdown over the weekend.
Republicans in the House of Representatives, Democrats in the Senate and the White House were divided over the amount of funding for the Department of Homeland Security. They have been arguing for days over disagreements that have threatened to jeopardize the spending package that also funds the Pentagon, State Department and other agencies. They face a midnight deadline Friday to pass the measure and avert a funding shortfall.
A breakthrough Monday night in which Democrats and Republicans were able to agree on the level of homeland security funding for the rest of the budget year allowed negotiators to finalize their deal.
“An agreement has been reached” that will allow Congress to fund the government through Sept. 30, spokesman Mike Johnson said in a statement. “The House and Senate committees have begun drafting the bill to be prepared for publication and consideration by the full House and Senate as quickly as possible.”
Even as the measure was being written on Tuesday, President Biden issued a statement saying he planned to sign it “immediately,” although no details were known about a package expected to total about $1 trillion -dollars will have.
Still, the delay in finalizing the deal could pave the way for a brief shortfall in government funding over the weekend. It will take time for congressional staffers to draft the legislative text, which combines six spending measures into one comprehensive bill.
House Republicans have demanded that Mr. Johnson adhere to an internal rule that gives lawmakers 72 hours to review the text of a bill before voting on it, although previous House leaders have at times abandoned that policy.
And any number of senators can create procedural hurdles to passage of the bill, requiring votes on proposed changes or objecting to fast-track consideration. This tactic could cause final passage to go past 12:01 a.m. on Saturday morning, when funding expires.
Late last year, Mr. Johnson cut the spending process in half, introducing two deadlines for a partial government shutdown instead of one deadline to avoid members having to cast a single vote on a huge total amount to fund the entire government, something Republicans have objected to repeated.
Earlier this month, lawmakers managed to negotiate and pass a $460 billion, $6 billion spending package that narrowly met the first March 8 deadline, and now they’re repeating the process — this time, haggling They are seeking funding for agencies that are more politically charged – before the second deadline at the end of this week.
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2024-03-19 16:26:01
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