Senate Reaches Deal to Vote On $1.2T Spending Package

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Facts

  • The Senate reached an agreement on a series of proposed amendment votes on the $1.2T package of spending bills late Friday night, averting a government shutdown.1
  • Before the 12:01 a.m. deadline on Saturday, the upper chamber's Republicans and Democrats failed to pass the government funding package that was approved by the House earlier on Friday.2
  • However, shortly before midnight, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the parties had reached a bipartisan deal 'to complete the job of funding the government.'3
  • Under the agreement, several amendments will be voted on before the full bill, which would fund roughly three-quarters of the government for the next six months. The government is technically in a partial shutdown.4
  • The partial shutdown isn't expected to last long, however. A White House official claims, 'Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations, and the President will sign the bill on Saturday.'5
  • The second of two appropriation bill packages Congress passed on Friday includes nearly $886B for the Defense Department, a 3% increase from last year, and funding for non-defense agencies such as Health and Human Services and Labor.6

Sources: 1CNN, 2FOX News, 3Associated Press (a), 4Washington Post, 5NBC and 6Associated Press (b).

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. While House GOP members made a huge deal about needing 72 hours to read the legislation — a last-ditched attempt at even further disruption — not even hardline Republicans can now stop the US Federal Government from receiving funding for the budgetary year. While Johnson has had to consistently tussle with the far-right of his party, Democrats have consistently remained steadfast in securing the key spending provisions America needs.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Washington Examiner. While certainly not appeasing all Republicans and largely the product of private negotiations with Democrat congressional leaders, Republicans can find a series of wins within the second appropriations bill. Although greater collaboration within the party would have been preferable, the legislation sees a reduction in funding for NGOs seeking to encourage immigrants and an increase in border agents — allowing the US to take a much-needed step toward securing its border again.
  • Cynical narrative, as provided by The Federalist. America has long faced the yearly threat of government shutdowns in theatrical bipartisan brinkmanship only favoring those seeking to selfishly influence policy via last-minute budget-busting omnibus bills. Unfortunately, lawmakers will vote yes on anything to avoid a shutdown, which is why the fiscally irresponsible always win. Legislation must be changed to automatically maintain current spending levels during deadlocks until the enactment of new appropriations bills.

Predictions