Senate passes government funding bill, teeing up House vote

Table Of Content

• US Congress leaders reach $1.66tn spending deal ahead of feared shutdown
• Senate passes $1.7 trillion government funding bill, teeing up House vote
• Speaker Johnson navigates 'mission impossible' to avoid shutdown, without clear plan
• Weekend Print + Standard Digital
• United States federal budget
• House and Senate negotiators reach agreement to prevent shutdown

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports the White House and congressional leaders say they’ve reached a spending deal that would avert a potential government shutdown this weekend. The action comes nearly six months into the fiscal year, with Congress still only halfway home in passing spending measures expected to total about $1.65 trillion. Lawmakers passed the first portion of spending bills in early March, representing about 30% of discretionary spending for the year. Now lawmakers are focused on the larger package and, in what has become routine, are brushing up against a shutdown deadline. Meanwhile, the White House showed appreciation for the deal reached on Sunday, which not only is the first step to avoid a government shutdown and protect national security but also falls in line with the spending levels both parties agreed upon last year.

US Congress leaders reach $1.66tn spending deal ahead of feared shutdown

But finally getting a spending bill that aligns with 2022 spending priorities, rather than last year’s, presents challenges of its own, considering how much time has already passed. The $1.5 trillion spending bill, approved almost halfway through the fiscal year, is expected to be swiftly signed into law by the president. Republicans crossed party lines to back what many viewed as must-pass legislation.

Senate passes $1.7 trillion government funding bill, teeing up House vote

Mr. Zelensky’s daring decision to visit Washington intensified the pressure to act on the measure, which includes nearly $50 billion in assistance to Ukraine. Funding previously would have expired at 12.01am on Saturday for roughly 20% of the federal government, and the remaining agencies only had enough money to last them through next Friday. If passed, the short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, would mark the fourth such stopgap measure approved since September.

Speaker Johnson navigates 'mission impossible' to avoid shutdown, without clear plan

The House Freedom Caucus has already signaled they won't support the agreement, tweeting, "It's even worse than we thought. Don't believe the spin. Once you break through typical Washington math, the true total programmatic spending level is $1.658 trillion — not $1.59 trillion. This is total failure." Opposition from far-right Republicans means the legislation will likely need to pass with significant support from Democrats in the Republican-controlled House. The rivals each capitalized on splashy fund-raisers in the past month that brought in tens of millions of dollars for their respective campaigns. But Mr. Trump’s haul from an April 6 event in Palm Beach, Fla., will be reflected on a future filing. His campaign reported that it and the Republican National Committee raked in more than $50.5 million from the dinner, which was held at the home of the billionaire John Paulson. But Mr. Trump’s campaign is spending much less than it was at the start of the year, which has helped it inch closer.

It will bring funding in line with a deal that was made last year between President Joe Biden and then-House speaker Kevin McCarthy, The New York Times reported. While Biden said he’ll sign the bill package as soon as he receives it, time is running short. The House has a rule that lawmakers get 72 hours to review a bill before voting. “It will also allow us to keep the investments for hardworking American families secured by the legislative achievements of President Biden and Congressional Democrats,” Schumer and Jeffries said. “Finally, we have made clear to Speaker Mike Johnson that Democrats will not support including poison pill policy changes in any of the twelve appropriations bills put before the Congress.

Then, the Senate would act on the bill, but it would require all senators to agree on speeding up the process to get to a final vote before the midnight Friday deadline. Such agreements generally require Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to allow for votes on various amendments to the bill in return for an expedited final vote. Schumer said Tuesday he was hopeful of avoiding a lapse in government services. With the possible release of legislative text late Tuesday, the House’s 72-hour rule means that chamber would not take it up until late Friday, just hours before funding expires.

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House, Senate leaders reach deal on government spending levels - WFTV Orlando

House, Senate leaders reach deal on government spending levels.

Posted: Sun, 07 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Instead, the omnibus will deliver $728.5 billion — $32.5 billion more than Congress delivered in 2021, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The omnibus measure includes discretionary spending increases for both domestic agencies and the Defense Department. On the non-Defense side, the combined increases amount to a $6.7 billion plus-up, a figure that Senate Democrats noted was the largest increase in domestic discretionary spending in the past four years. If the House passes the bill, it will represent another significant bipartisan win for Biden, who has notched a number of legislative victories in the past year on bills that passed with both Republican and Democratic support. Some of the most notable were the Respect for Marriage Act, the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, passed in June, resolved the debt-ceiling crisis and set spending caps for FY2024 and FY2025.

United States federal budget

In March, it spent just $3.7 million, the new filings show, compared with $11.4 million in January — and much less than the $29.2 million spent by Mr. Biden’s campaign in March. In other words, Mr. Trump’s campaign is guarding resources as it seeks to build a campaign war chest for the general election. The bill, which would provide nearly $50 billion in aid to Ukraine, now heads to the House for a vote where it is expected to pass before being sent to President Biden. "If Senate Republicans controlled this chamber, we would have handled the appropriations process differently from top to bottom," McConnell said Wednesday on the Senate floor. One provision in the bill would provide for 12,000 special immigrant visas for eligible Afghans who helped Americans despite great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones during roughly two decades of war in Afghanistan. Without congressional action, the State Department could run out of such visas by the end of summer, endangering thousands of Afghans seeking safety in the U.S.

House and Senate negotiators reach agreement to prevent shutdown

It will also fund the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and others. “This represents the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade,” Johnson writes. "This represents the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade," wrote Johnson. Democrats staved off most of the policy riders that House Republicans sought to include. For example, they beat back an effort to reverse the FDA’s decision that allows the abortion pill mifepristone to be sold in retail pharmacies, instead of only in hospitals, clinics and medical offices. Democrats also said the bill would fully fund a nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children known as WIC.

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday approved a roughly $1.7 trillion spending package that would fund the federal government into next fall and send another round of financial assistance to Kyiv, a day after lawmakers welcomed President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to Capitol Hill. Work on the final spending bills hit a late snag around funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but the contours of that bill were resolved late Monday. With less than two weeks before the first deadline—and with the House and Senate still on holiday break—House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced they have agreed to $1.59 trillion in spending for fiscal year 2024.

Former President Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign committee ended March with $45 million on hand, federal filings showed Saturday, as he tries to close the fund-raising gap with President Biden. The Senate voted 68 to 29 to send the legislation to the House, which is set to take it up on Friday. The Senate vote came one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Washington and delivered a historic speech to a special joint meeting of Congress.

After meeting with Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, the House speaker, the Republican Mike Johnson, expressed confidence that members could reach an agreement and avoid a shutdown. WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders on Sunday announced an agreement on overall funding levels as lawmakers face a possible government shutdown. WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders on Sunday came out with a package of six bills setting full-year spending levels for some federal agencies, a step forward in a long overdue funding process beset by sharp political divisions between the two parties as well as infighting among House Republicans.