Congress Announces Bills to Avoid Partial Government Shutdown

Facts

• Congressional leaders on Sunday announced a series of bills that will fund key parts of the government through the rest of Fiscal Year 2024, which ends in October. Congress hopes to pass the six-bill package to avoid Friday’s partial shutdown deadline.¹
• Legislators will have at least 72 hours to read the bill before voting on it, and, if passed, it would fund agencies such as the Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Veterans Affairs, among others. Congress will need to pass another six spending bills before a March 22 deadline.²
• Last Wednesday, congressional leaders agreed to the fourth funding extension deal since October, averting a partial shutdown on March 1. The remaining six bills needed to fund the rest of government will be debated by the House and Senate over the next two weeks.³
• The first package of bills will cost $435B, and leaders in both parties praised the agreement. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) lauded cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency(10%), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (7%), and FBI (6%).⁴
• Meanwhile, Senate leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) celebrated Democratic provisions 'protect[ing] against cuts to housing and nutrition programs.' Johnson and Schumer agreed to set discretionary spending at $1.6T, but they have not agreed to specific bills allocating federal resources.⁵
• The House is likely to vote on the bill under suspension of House rules in order to override objections from hardline Republicans. Once passed, legislators will craft the second bill which will address Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.⁶

Sources: ¹The Guardian, ²Associated Press, ³CNBC, ⁴Daily Mail, ⁵PBS NewsHour and ⁶Roll Call.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by The Washington Times. All things considered, Sunday’s spending package was a major victory for conservatives as Republicans were able to secure hefty spending cuts to several agencies while averting a government shutdown. It’s fair to say that the bill did not go far enough, but it would be impossible for Republicans to achieve all of their policy goals when the House is basically split 50-50 and the Senate is controlled by Democrats. Compromise was necessary to avoid a shutdown, and Speaker Johnson did a good job negotiating this deal.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by POLITICO. Responsible members of Congress came together to negotiate Sunday's spending bill as far-right Republicans did all they could to push for a government shutdown. For months, Congress has been forced to pass stopgap spending bills to avoid government shutdowns because Speaker Johnson is being held hostage by the fringe of his party. Johnson knows that he can never win with his far-right colleagues, but he has to placate them by spinning his agreements. Johnson had no choice but to take his minor wins, but he is marketing a few spending cuts to his base.

Predictions