Congress Reaches Tentative Deal to Avoid Shutdown

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Facts

  • Congressional leaders, along with Pres. Joe Biden, announced Tuesday that they have reached a deal on the final set of spending bills through the fiscal year. It comes at the last minute, as funding for several key federal agencies expires later this week.1
  • The legislation's text is yet to be made public. However, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said that a partial government shutdown would likely be avoided, and that the bill could be released by Wednesday morning.2
  • Previously, an agreement had been reached to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after negotiators resolved sticking points over border spending — a contentious issue in the run-up to the 2024 elections.3
  • However, on Monday night, the House Freedom Caucus issued a letter calling House Republicans to vote against any appropriations package with funds for the DHS that doesn't include elements of the Secure the Border Act, known as H.R. 2, deemed a nonstarter for Democrats.4
  • This is the fifth time this fiscal year — and the third time this month — that Congress has voted to avert a government shutdown. If this full-year spending plan passes, shutdown fears will be effectively averted until the end of FY 2024.5
  • The US national debt now stands at $34.5T and is continuing to grow. Tuesday's deal is expected to fund about three-quarters of the $1.66T in discretionary government spending for the current fiscal year.6

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2CNN, 3WSJ, 4FOX News, 5Forbes and 6Reuters.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times. The threat of a government shutdown again looms over America, and this all-too-usual fiscal drama isn't without consequences. Rating firms have downgraded US government debt, costing taxpayers higher interest rates and affecting faith in governance. These self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives — who allowed the debt to grow by $8T under Trump — have made budget brinkmanship a routine whenever a Democrat is in the White House.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Washington Examiner. A government shutdown is on the way to being averted for now, but this deal isn't a win, it's merely a temporary fix that doesn't address the core issue — the US is sitting on an unsustainable amount of debt. Before this accomplishment is celebrated, it should be noted that it will do little more than push the deadline back and postpone across-the-aisle clashes and GOP infighting until, at best, the 2025 fiscal year.
  • Narrative C, as provided by The Federalist. America has been facing the threat of government shutdowns every year in a bipartisan brinkmanship theater that only favors those seeking to increase public expenditure in last-minute budget-busting omnibus bills. Unfortunately, most lawmakers would vote yes on anything to avoid a shutdown, which is why the fiscally irresponsible paths win. Legislation must be changed to automatically maintain current spending levels during deadlocks until the enactment of new appropriations bills.

Predictions