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Negotiators Race to Finish Gov Funding 03/19 06:12
Negotiators from Congress and the White House scrambled Monday to complete
work on the remaining government funding bills for the fiscal year and avoid a
partial shutdown for key departments that would begin this weekend without
legislative action.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Negotiators from Congress and the White House scrambled
Monday to complete work on the remaining government funding bills for the
fiscal year and avoid a partial shutdown for key departments that would begin
this weekend without legislative action.
Six months into the fiscal year, Congress is about halfway home in passing
spending measures expected to total about $1.65 trillion. Lawmakers passed the
first portion of spending bills in early March, funding about 30% of the
government. Now lawmakers are focused on the larger package, and in what has
become routine, are brushing up against the deadline when federal funding
expires.
Agreement had been reached on five of the six spending bills that make up
the second package, but negotiators clashed over the measure that provides
funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for
securing and managing U.S. borders, among other things. A person familiar with
the negotiations but not authorized to discuss them publicly said late Monday
that a deal had been reached on the Homeland Security spending. The
breakthrough sets the stage for Congress to dodge a partial shutdown.
The stakes for both sides are immense as border security emerges as a
central issue in the 2024 campaigns and the flow of migrants crossing the
southern border far outpaces the capacity of the U.S. immigration system to
deal with it.
Negotiators had been moving toward a simple solution: passing a continuing
resolution that would mostly extend funding for the Department of Homeland
Security, though with some increase from 2023 spending levels.
But a senior Republican aide said House Republicans pushed for more
resources for the border than the continuing resolution would have provided.
The White House also eventually rejected the continuing resolution approach but
didn't make that clear in communications with congressional allies until the
"11th hour," the aide said, increasing the risk of a short-term shutdown.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday declined to speak
to timelines during the negotiations but emphasized that funding the government
is lawmakers' responsibility.
"It is their job to keep the government open," she said.
Drilling down more specifically on funding for the Department of Homeland
Security, she said the Biden administration has "maximized their operations"
and removed more people in the past 10 months than during any year since fiscal
year 2013. She said it was important to continue "that operational pace."
"Obviously, we believe DHS needs additional funding. We've always said
that," Jean-Pierre said.
Even with the possible release of legislative text early this week, it's
unclear whether Congress can avoid a brief partial shutdown. House rules call
for giving lawmakers 72 hours to review a bill before voting. House Speaker
Mike Johnson will then likely have to bring the bill up through a streamlined
process requiring two-thirds support to pass.
Most of the "no" votes are expected to come from Republicans, who have been
critical of the overall spending levels as well as the lack of policy mandates
sought by some conservatives, such as restricting abortion access, eliminating
diversity and inclusion programs within federal agencies, and banning
gender-affirming care.
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 to allow for votes on various amendments to the bill in return for an
expedited final vote.
The package being finalized this week is expected to provide about $886
billion for the Pentagon. The bill will also fund the Departments of Health and
Human Services, Labor and others.
Overall, the two spending packages provide about a 3% boost for defense,
while keeping nondefense spending roughly flat with the year before. That's in
keeping with an agreement that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked out with
the White House, which restricted spending for two years and suspended the debt
ceiling into January 2025 so the federal government could continue paying its
bills.
House Republicans have been determined to end the practice of packaging all
12 annual spending bills into one massive bill called an omnibus. They managed
this time to break the spending bills into two parts.
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