Congressional Leaders Strike Deal on Final Spending Bill Ahead of #GovernmentShutdown
Lawmakers resolved disputes over #DHS funding, paving the way for an agreement. But they may still be unable to meet a Friday deadline to avert a brief partial #shutdown.
#HouseRepublicans, the #Senate, #Democrats & the #WhiteHouse had been at loggerheads over funding levels for the #DHS. For days, they had been litigating disagreements that threatened to imperil the spending package that also funds the #Pentagon, the #StateDepartment & other #FederalAgencies. They are facing a midnight deadline on Fri to pass the measure & avert a lapse in funding.
A breakthrough on Mon night, in which Democrats & #Republicans were able to agree to #HomelandSecurity funding levels for the rest of the fiscal year, allowed negotiators to finalize their deal.
“An agreement has been reached” that will enable #Congress to fund the #government through Sept 30, Speaker #MikeJohnson said in a stmnt. “#House & #Senate cmtes have begun drafting bill text to be prepared for release & consideration by the full House & Senate as soon as possible.”
Still, the delay in striking the deal could pave the way for a brief lapse in #government funding over the weekend. It will take #congress staff time to draw up text of the bill, which wraps six spending measures into a sizable piece of legislation.
#HouseRepublicans have demanded that #MikeJohnson abide by an internal rule that allows lawmakers 72 hrs to consider the text of a bill before they vote on it, though previous #House leaders have at times abandoned that guidance.
Any number of senators may create procedural hurdles for the bill’s passage & demand votes on proposed changes or object to its quick consideration. Those tactics could push passage past 12:01AM on Sat, when funding expires.
Late last yr, #MikeJohnson chopped the spending process in half, creating 2 partial govt #Shutdown deadlines instead of 1, in an effort to avoid asking members to take a single vote on a huge catchall to fund the entire govt, which #Republicans have objected to repeatedly.
Earlier this month, lawmakers were able to negotiate & pass a 6-bill $460B spending package that just barely met the 1st deadline on Mar 8, & are now repeating the process — this time haggling over funding for more politically fraught agencies — before the 2nd deadline at the end of this week.
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