WASHINGTON—Just days before a crucial deadline to avoid a shutdown and following multiple delays, congressional leaders on Tuesday night unveiled the language of a short-term plan that would keep the federal government operating until March 14.
The House and Senate are hoping to adjourn for the Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year holidays, but funding expires at the end of Friday.
In order to repair the devastation caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton in areas like Florida and western North Carolina, the 1,547-page package offers $100.4 billion for disaster relief assistance. President Joe Biden had asked Congress to do just that.
A one-year extension of the farm bill, $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, and a clause reauthorizing a Department of Homeland Security program that permits government agencies to coordinate and combat drone threats in light of recent sightings are also included.
Furthermore, a second clause in the continuing resolution, or CR, gives Washington, D.C., authority over Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. This would enable the city to negotiate the return of the NFL’s Commanders to the area.
There is pressure on the Republican-led House to violate the 72-hour norm between text release and bill vote because lawmakers have only a few days left to avoid a government shutdown before the Christmas. And in order to avoid procedural obstacles and adopt it on time, the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, would need to concur unanimously.
A fresh shutdown deadline would be thrown into President-elect Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office by the legislation.
Republicans, who will preserve a slim House majority and take both the Senate and White House in January, will have ups and downs as a result of the change.
On the one hand, the GOP’s 2025 trifecta will increase their power to influence the terms of a comprehensive financing agreement the following year. To pass government financing, they would still need Democratic backing because it is subject to the Senate’s 60-vote barrier.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also benefits from delaying tough budget decisions until after January 3, when he will need the support of almost all House Republicans to be re-elected. Conservatives in his ranks would oppose him if he pushed through a broad government spending agreement with Democrats around Christmas, endangering his reputation.
Johnson had very little room for mistake after the GOP House majority was reduced to 220 to 215 in last month’s election.
The primary drawback is that it would put Congress under pressure to meet another deadline early in Trump’s term, which might divert attention from his other priorities, such as getting Senate confirmation of nominees and moving forward with his party-line policies on domestic energy policy, immigration funding, and tax cuts.
Because of this, several Republicans wanted to complete the assignment sooner rather than later and relieve Trump of the funding burden for the current fiscal year.
The incoming president would benefit greatly from a deadline in mid-January, according to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who will soon take over as chair of the Appropriations Committee.
“I think it’s really important that we don’t worry about fiscal year 2025 and give the new administration a clean slate,” she said.
However, the majority of both parties have acknowledged that another temporary solution will have to be found because Congress wants to wrap up this week and head out of town for the holidays.
As the leading Democrat on the panel, outgoing Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut stated, “We just need to keep things afloat for the next three to four months.”
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