Spending package
Congress unveils massive $1.1trillion to avert shutdown
AFTER days of delay, US congressional leaders unveiled a $1.1trillion bipartisan spending measure for defence, homeland security and other programs early on Thursday, giving lawmakers less than two days to avert a partial government shutdown.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives will vote on the sprawling package on Friday, leaving the Democratic-majority Senate only hours to pass the package of six bills that covers about two-thirds of the $1.66trillion in discretionary government spending for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.
“These final six bills represent a bipartisan and bicameral compromise,” the two top Senate negotiators — Patty Murray, a Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Republican — said in a statement.
“They will invest in the American people, build a stronger economy, help keep our communities safe, and strengthen our national security and global leadership.”
The Congressional Budget Office warned that US deficits and debt will grow considerably over the next 30 years, forecasting that the nation’s $34.5 trillion national debt, which currently represents about 99 per cent of GDP, could grow and rise to 166 per cent of GDP by 2054.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he is
“hopeful” Congress can avert a shutdown if Democrats and Republicans in his chamber work together.
The compressed schedule raised the risk of at least a brief partial shutdown after a Friday midnight deadline, unless Schumer can reach agreement with Senate Republicans to expedite the bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson touted what he called a series of wins for Republicans, from higher spending for US defence and border security to a cutoff of US funding for the main United Nations relief agency that provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
“This FY24 appropriations legislation is a serious commitment to strengthening our national defense by moving the Pentagon toward a focus on its core mission,” Johnson said in a statement released along with the text of the legislation.
Democrats said they blocked some Republican cuts and policy measures and touted funds aimed at lowering childcare costs, supporting small businesses and fighting the flow of the opioid fentanyl.
Besides the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, the bill would fund agencies including the State Department and the Internal Revenue Service as it girds for its April 15 taxpayer filing deadline.