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WASHINGTON – After Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress reached an agreement over the weekend to fund the government, the Washington lawmaker who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee said he is on track to pass legislation by two looming deadlines. He promised to work 24 hours a day.
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who chairs the committee responsible for crafting the annual bill to fund the government, said her party’s leadership in both chambers will fund federal programs through the end of the year. The statement came after announcing an agreement to spend approximately $1.6 trillion on the United States. This year ends in September. Lawmakers have less than two weeks to pass legislation to avert a partial government shutdown.
“Now that we have reached a framework agreement, we can finally begin the hard work of negotiating and passing a year-round spending bill,” Murray said. “We cannot afford to delay any longer, so we will pass a bipartisan spending bill free of partisan poison that will help prevent unnecessary shutdowns, protect critical investments, and address the challenges our constituents face. “I will be working around the clock with my colleagues over the next few days to ensure that we are well positioned.” ”
Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the deal Sunday in a letter to his fellow Republicans, saying the top line of spending would be lower than the budget, after Democrats called for an increase in total spending. He said it was a victory for conservatives.
The total includes about $886 billion in defense spending and $772 billion in “discretionary” spending that Congress must approve annually. Most federal spending is mandatory, meaning it continues without Congressional action.
The agreement cancels more than $6 billion in pandemic emergency spending and accelerates previously agreed cuts to the Internal Revenue Service budget. This was not enough for the far-right House Freedom Caucus, which called the deal a “total failure” in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
Freedom Caucus members are likely to vote against the bipartisan funding bill, as they have in the past, but opposition from Johnson’s right threatens to sink the deal. His predecessor, former California House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was ousted last year for striking a spending deal with President Joe Biden that angered hardline Republicans.
“The bipartisan funding framework agreed to by Congressional leaders moves us one step closer to preventing an unnecessary government shutdown and protecting our nation’s critical priorities,” Biden said in a statement. It noted that the funding level was in line with the funding level negotiated with McCarthy in May. It rejects deep cuts to programs that hard-working families rely on and provides a path to passing a year-round funding bill that benefits Americans and eliminates extreme policies. ”
The top Senate Republican appropriators, Sens. Murray and Susan Collins of Maine, and their counterparts in the House have said that certain programs will be shut down and some government workers will be sent home or without pay. They face two deadlines to provide funding to the government before they can be put to work. About 20% of government funding, including some support for veterans and food and drug safety inspections, will run out on January 19th. The remainder of the government funding expires on February 2nd.
The government funding bill is separate from an additional spending package that combines aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies with funding and policies to deal with record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border. Negotiations on the bill are currently underway, but anger on the right over the bipartisan spending bill could make negotiations even more difficult.
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