Biden and Congressional Leaders Reach Agreement on Government Funding to Avoid Partial Shutdown

President Joe Biden and congressional leaders have announced that they have reached an agreement on this year’s final set of spending bills. The focus is now on how quickly lawmakers can pass the bills to prevent a partial government shutdown.

Although Biden has committed to signing the bill package upon receiving it, time is running out. Drafting the bill text is a time-consuming process, and lawmakers in the House are required to have 72 hours to review a bill before voting. Additionally, the Senate is not known for its speed. Funding for several important agencies is set to expire at midnight on Friday.

President Biden, a Democrat, stated on Tuesday morning, “We have reached an agreement with Congressional leaders on the final funding bills for the year. The House and Senate are working on finalizing a package that can be quickly brought to the floor, and I will sign it immediately.”

The final spending bills faced a last-minute hurdle regarding funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but that issue was resolved on Monday. Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana stated that the relevant committees are now drafting the bill text to be considered by both chambers as soon as possible.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader from New York, issued a similar statement, indicating that Congress would consider the package in the next few days once the drafting process is completed.

After six months into the fiscal year, Congress is halfway through passing spending measures totaling around $1.65 trillion. The first portion of spending bills was passed in March, covering about 30% of discretionary spending. Lawmakers are now focused on the larger package as they approach another shutdown deadline.

The spending package is expected to allocate approximately $886 billion for the Pentagon and fund departments like Health and Human Services and Labor.

Overall, the spending packages provide a 3% increase for defense while maintaining non-defense spending at a similar level to the previous year. This aligns with an agreement made by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy with the White House to restrict spending for two years and extend the debt ceiling into January 2025.

House Republicans have successfully divided the 12 annual spending bills into two separate parts, moving away from the practice of an omnibus bill.

With the release of legislative text expected late Tuesday, the House’s 72-hour rule means a vote would likely not take place until late Friday. This would require a streamlined process with two-thirds support to pass the bill.

It is anticipated that most of the “no” votes will come from Republicans who criticize the spending levels and the absence of policy mandates they support, such as restrictions on abortion access and diversity programs within federal agencies.

The Senate would also need to act on the bill, potentially expediting the process to reach a final vote before the Friday deadline, requiring agreement from all senators.