Updated March 19 at 4:11 p.m.
Congressional leaders and the White House have agreed to a funding plan that would end the threat of a shutdown for the remainder of fiscal 2024, although lawmakers now have a tight timetable to send the measure to the president’s desk before some agencies are forced to close their doors.
Negotiators have reached agreement on the final six appropriations bills that Congress must pass each year, they announced Tuesday morning, which will now be considered as part of a single “minibus” package. Funding for the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and State, as well as other agencies, is set to expire at the end of Friday daytime. If Congress does not act in time, more than 600,000 federal employees would face furloughs.
Donors are still finalizing the text of the package, leaving some uncertainty over when Congress will vote on it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pledged to give his members 72 hours from the time a bill is introduced until a vote. In the Senate, any member can delay expedited consideration of a bill. These obstacles could make it difficult to get the next minibus to President Biden’s office without at least a short period of funding or another temporary spending bill.
If Congress waits until the weekend to approve the measure and does not pass another continuing resolution, the Office of Management and Budget could choose to delay any closure proceedings citing the impending passage of appropriations.
“Senate, House and White House leaders have reached agreement to finalize the final round of full-year appropriations bills,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday. , D-N.Y. He and Johnson said the relevant committees were finalizing the bills and a vote would take place as soon as possible.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday that whether Congress can complete its work without another CR would depend on exactly when the text of the bill would be released. made available and whether Johnson would adhere to his 72-hour rule.
“I don’t know if that means we’ll need a short, very short CR,” Collins said. She declined to speculate on the package’s prospects in the Senate, saying only that it was “very important to avoid a government shutdown.”
The Senate is expected to recess at the end of the week, which some lawmakers say could help speed up consideration of the measure. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he “provided a list” to leaders of amendment votes and that as long as he received those votes, he would agree to an expedited voting schedule “so we can Get out of here”.
“This is the Senate of the United States,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska. “We’re motivated by recess.”
Leaders had hoped to release the minibus text over the weekend, but negotiations stalled as leaders from both parties and the White House failed to come up with a plan to fund DHS. With overall funding for non-defense spending expected to remain essentially flat compared to fiscal 2023, the White House was looking to give DHS a boost to ease the pressure it faces at the border South West.
“DHS needs a bill that funds operational tempo,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. “This is what the White House is fighting for.”
President Biden on Tuesday threw his support behind the new deal.
“We have reached agreement with congressional leaders on a path forward for the remaining funding bills for the full year,” Biden said. “The House and Senate are currently working to finalize a package that can be presented quickly, and I will sign it immediately.”
The minibus would be the second of the year. Agencies employing approximately 600,000 federal workers received credits for the entire year earlier this month.
This story has been updated with additional comment.
