Biden and House Republicans Reach Funding Deal as Shutdown Looms – The Biden administration and House Republican leadership have reached an agreement on a government funding package, yet it’s uncertain whether the US Congress will be able to approve the proposal before Saturday, the deadline when several federal agencies are projected to exhaust their funds.
On Tuesday, Joe Biden announced that a consensus had been achieved, urging lawmakers to expedite the process of getting the bill to his desk promptly to prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend. “We have come to an agreement with congressional leaders on a path forward for the remaining full-year funding bills,” Biden said in a statement.
“The House and Senate are now working to finalize a package that can quickly be brought to the floor, and I will sign it immediately.” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson verified that negotiators had finalized an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year, marking the resolution of the last obstacle in the discussions.
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Although negotiators had resolved five out of the six remaining appropriations bills, disagreements regarding border security funding delayed the announcement of a deal over the weekend. The specifics of the DHS agreement were not immediately disclosed, as lawmakers awaited the text of the legislation for review on Tuesday.
“House and Senate committees have begun drafting bill text to be prepared for release and consideration by the full House and Senate as soon as possible,” Johnson said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Congressional leaders are currently racing against time to approve the funding bill before 12:01 am on Saturday, when roughly 70% of the federal government faces a shutdown unless another spending package is passed.
Earlier this month, Biden signed a bill to fund the remaining 30% of the federal government until the fiscal year’s end on September 30. However, departments such as state, defense, labor, and education still confront a funding shortfall come Saturday. The schedule is tight, with House Republican leaders aiming to allow members at least 72 hours to review legislation before a vote.
This would potentially schedule the final House vote for Friday at the earliest, leaving the Senate with only hours to pass the bill before the shutdown deadline. To achieve this, all senators must unanimously agree to expedite the bill’s passage, which may prove challenging given past objections from some hard-right members, like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
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If no time agreement is reached, a short shutdown might occur, although its impact on federal agencies would likely be minimal if the Senate passes the bill over the weekend. Upon Biden’s signing of the spending bill, the entire federal government will be funded for the remainder of the fiscal year.
This resolution would conclude months of deadlock, during which Congress has passed four stopgap spending bills since the fiscal year commenced in October. However, members won’t have much respite from their appropriations duties, as congressional hearings are already underway this week to discuss next year’s budget.
