Congressional leaders have reportedly reached an agreement on spending legislation that will keep the government funded through September, just days before the Friday night deadline.
The agreement on this bill comes following President Joe Biden’s signing of a bill earlier in March that funded roughly 30% of the government through the end of the 2024 fiscal year, as reported by The Guardian.
However, an estimated 70% of the federal government will shut down if the most recent bill is not passed by Friday at midnight.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wrote in a statement on Tuesday morning that an “agreement has been reached for DHS appropriations, which will allow completion of the FY24 appropriations process. 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.”
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security was the biggest debate between negotiators, likely caused by the ongoing crisis along the southern border due to the influx of unlawful migrants.
Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Bob Good (R-VA), alongside 41 other House Republicans, released a letter on Monday calling on GOP leaders to use the power of the purse to manage DHS in the funding bill and help mitigate the border crisis.
“The House must put forth an appropriations measure that forces the inclusion of the core elements of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, ends funding of trafficking, and prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, otherwise Republicans will be actively funding Biden’s “open borders” policies,” wrote the representatives in the letter.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote in a statement that the debates over DHS funding were handled by the White House and Republican Party.
“House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement in principle with respect to the six remaining fiscal year 2024 spending bills, following the completion of negotiations between the Biden administration and House Republicans related to the appropriation of Homeland Security funding,” he wrote.
President Joe Biden confirmed in a statement that the package is officially completed and he is prepared to “sign it immediately” once passed by the House of Representatives and Senate.
Although negotiators agreed upon the funding bill on Monday night, there is still a chance that the deadline will pass before legislators can pass the bill.
Members of the House are expected to receive 72 hours to review the bill before an official vote. If members of the House vote in favor of passing the bill, it will then move into the Senate.
Any senator will then have the ability to demand votes on proposed changes or file an objection to the text’s expedited consideration, per The New York Times.
As a result of these potential hurdles, there remains a possibility that another stopgap bill could be passed to give legislators additional time to pass the full bill, per CBS News.
