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Both chambers of Congress approved the measure despite its 2,741 pages of text having only been finalized and released on Wednesday. The legislation also contains $44.9 billion in military, humanitarian and economic aid for Ukraine. The total includes funds to replenish Pentagon stockpiles of weapons the U.S. sent to Ukraine, along with additional aid for NATO allies. Lawmakers will now have to cobble together legislation that passes Congress before money runs out for some key programs Jan. 19. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he was "encouraged" by the deal.
With Shutdown Looming, House and Senate Leaders Agree on Spending Levels
Under current law, the VA must send a beneficiary’s name to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System whenever a fiduciary is appointed to help manage someone’s benefits. This year’s spending package prohibits the VA from transmitting that information unless a relevant judicial authority rules that the beneficiary is a danger to himself or herself, or others. “House Republicans secured key conservative policy victories, rejected left-wing proposals, and imposed sharp cuts to agencies and programs critical to President Biden’s agenda,” Johnson said in a prepared statement. "After preparing final text, this package of six full year Appropriations bills will be voted on and enacted prior to March 8," they wrote.
Top lawmakers strike funding deal, potentially averting weekend shutdown - POLITICO
Top lawmakers strike funding deal, potentially averting weekend shutdown.
Posted: Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Budget legislation
Johnson would then likely have to bring the bill up through a streamlined process requiring two-thirds support to pass. In a letter to colleagues, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday the agreement would secure $16 billion in additional spending cuts from the previous agreement brokered by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden and is about $30 billion less than what the Senate was considering. If those numbers sound familiar, they are similar to the amounts approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in the debt ceiling agreement. “Throughout the negotiations, Democrats fought hard to protect against cuts to housing and nutrition programs, and keep out harmful provisions that would further restrict access to women’s health, or roll back the progress we’ve made to fight climate change,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in support of the legislation. Overall, this year’s spending bills would keep non-defense spending relatively flat with last year’s bill, despite the rise in inflation, and some $70 billion less than what President Joe Biden originally sought.
With government shutdown looming, House and Senate leaders agree on spending levels
To win the Republican votes needed for the measure to pass the Senate, Democrats agreed to a higher overall increase for military and defense programs compared with the health care, education and veterans affairs policies they champion. WASHINGTON — The Senate approved a $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Thursday, sending the legislation to the House, where it is expected to pass in time to beat a Friday night deadline to avert a partial federal government shutdown. Hard-right Republican lawmakers have voiced frustration with the short-term funding measures, but ongoing disagreements over some proposals in the appropriations bills have complicated talks over the full-year bills.
Congressional leaders see new hope for a preventing a government shutdown - NBC News
Congressional leaders see new hope for a preventing a government shutdown.
Posted: Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
After months of negotiations, House and Senate leaders reached an agreement Sunday on total spending levels to fund the government in 2024. Given that the measure is the last must-pass bill before the holidays and the end of the 117th Congress, lawmakers shoved dozens of separate funding and legislative priorities into the package. The compromise offered Democrats a final opportunity to set the federal budget while they still control both chambers of Congress. The bill, which funds the government through the end of September, substantially increases spending and provides $858 billion in military funding and more than $772 billion for domestic programs.
Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts, called it an “unequivocal win” if the legislation is ultimately passed. There’s no good reason for us to have one this week now that we’re getting very close to finishing the job,” Schumer said. House Republicans have been determined to end the practice of packaging all 12 annual spending bills into one massive bill called an omnibus. “We want to get it done before the government funding expires Friday,” Scalise said. The agreement speeds up the roughly $20 billion in cuts already agreed to for the Internal Revenue Service and rescinds about $6 billion in COVID relief money that had been approved but not yet spent, according to Johnson’s letter. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders.
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"America faces serious national security challenges, and Congress must act quickly to deliver the full-year resources this moment requires," he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., celebrated the deal for securing money for veterans and guaranteeing further cuts to the IRS and COVID relief funds. Then $75 per month.Complete digital access to quality FT journalism on any device.
Dressed in military fatigues and boots, he urged lawmakers to keep funding his country's "war of independence" against invading Russian forces. The Senate majority leader, the Democrat Chuck Schumer, echoed Johnson’s assessment while acknowledging that another short-term funding bill would be necessary to prevent a lapse in federal funding. These absences and exits will make it tough for the Republican Conference to pass the spending deal without Democratic support, especially since hardline conservatives have voiced their opposition to any spending bill that doesn’t include hefty cuts. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., agreed on a $1.59 trillion topline for fiscal year 2024. This includes $886 billion in defense spending and $704 billion in nondefense, Johnson said in a “Dear Colleagues” letter, obtained by Punchbowl News. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has also indicated he backs the deal.
Senate Passes $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill, in Bid to Avert Government Shutdown
Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, a member of Utah’s all-Republican congressional delegation, spoke to the Deseret News on Thursday about the importance of deciding on a topline spending number. She said she is grateful Johnson prioritized budget talks over the December recess so Congress has time to hammer out a final deal in coming days. The House speaker said Congress “must move quickly” to finish the appropriations process, which requires the support of both Republicans and Democrats, but hardline conservatives are pushing back as the two funding deadlines — Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 — to avoid a shutdown are fast approaching. The speaker said the agreement slashes the Senate’s proposed appropriations by $30 billion, noting that the numbers fall in line with the spending caps set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, negotiated by President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., when suspending the debt ceiling.
The stopgap bill was part of a broader bipartisan agreement between all four leaders in the House and Senate. The deal also included an agreement on six of the twelve annual spending bills. The stopgap under consideration today give them until March 22 to finish work on the remaining six bills. Johnson said that while the “final spending levels will not satisfy everyone, and they do not cut as much spending as many of us would like,” they will help the government to continue functioning and prioritize “conservative objectives” as well as crucial policies included within the spending bills.
The figures represent about a 5% increase in nondefense spending, and an 8% hike for defense and Pentagon programs. With government funding partially expiring on Friday, House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement to prevent a shutdown. Congress will have to officially pass the deal, which already has some challenges. Specifically, conservatives in the Senate want to shore up immigration and border security demands—while conservatives in the House have tied funding decreases to requests for aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Congressional leaders struck an agreement to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown. The deal still needs to get through Congress, where it is likely to face opposition from conservatives.
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