Faced with the threat of a partial government shutdown on Saturday, congressional leaders introduced a $1.2 trillion bill that would fund about three-quarters of the federal government, including the military, until the end of the current fiscal year. With the release of the legislative text that’s more than 1,000 pages, the House and Senate are now facing a major time crunch to get the legislation across the finish line. Several critical government operations need to be funded by the end of the day on Friday, March 22, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and the legislative branch.
The bill would raise pay for military personnel, eliminate U.S. funding for the United Nations relief agency in Gaza and bolster security spending at the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill is the product of deal-making among President Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Earlier this month, Congress passed, and Biden signed, another set of six funding bills worth about $460 billion for the other roughly 25% of federal government spending. With the clock ticking on the shutdown threat, Johnson is expected to bring the latest spending package to a floor vote in the House as soon as Friday morning.
Both GOP and Democrat negotiators claimed some measure of victory in the new package. “House Republicans have achieved significant conservative policy wins, rejected extreme Democrat proposals, and imposed substantial cuts to wasteful agencies and programs while strengthening border security and national defense,” Johnson said.
Democratic negotiators said they were able to eliminate GOP proposals to limit abortion access and restrict the rights of LGBTQ Americans, and secure $1 billion more for the Head Start early education program and another $1 billion for climate resilience funding.
“We defeated outlandish cuts that would have been a gut punch for American families and our economy – and we fought off scores of extreme policies that would have restricted Americans’ fundamental freedoms, hurt consumers while giving giant corporations an unfair advantage, and turned back the clock on historic climate action,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA).
