With a government shutdown on the horizon, Congressional leaders say they have found a middle ground to move forward with spending bills. On Sunday, Jan. 7, Senate and House leaders announced an agreement on government funding totaling nearly $1.66 trillion. It’s a number in line with 2023’s agreement between President Biden and then-speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. An agreement that, in part, led to McCarthy’s ousting.
It is unclear whether this year’s agreement will get the support needed to pass spending bills to avert a partial shutdown in less than two weeks. The deal allows for an increase in Pentagon spending to $886 billion and $772.7 billion in non-defense funding.
Now, lawmakers will work on individual spending bills, work that has stalled in the past as Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree on a middle ground. In a letter to Republicans, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said there were victories for the GOP in the overarching agreement.
The deal includes a $10 billion cut to IRS funding and a $6 billion claw-back in unspent COVID-19 relief funding. Congress faces a first deadline of Jan. 19 to pass four individual spending bills to avoid a shutdown and a second deadline of Feb. 2 to pass eight remaining appropriation bills.
Despite the uphill battle that still looms, last week both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Speaker Johnson seemed to be optimistic about avoiding a shutdown. Schumer, though, warned Republicans about what they might try to include in the appropriation bills.
“We have made clear to Speaker Mike Johnson that Democrats will not support including poison pill policy changes in any of the twelve appropriations bills put before the Congress,” Schumer posted on X.
