President Joe Biden and House Republicans said in separate statements on Tuesday that they have struck a deal on a government funding agreement for the rest of the fiscal year. Neither publicly announced details of the deal. It remains unclear if Congress will have enough time to pass the proposal before Saturday and avert a partial government shutdown this weekend. Congress needs to beat a Saturday morning deadline for the State, Defense, Homeland Security, Labor and Health and Human Services departments to keep operating; however, Republicans remain deeply divided and will likely need Democrat votes to pass, possibly putting Johnson’s job as speaker in jeopardy. The House is not expected to vote until the end of the week.
Biden said in a statement that an agreement had been reached, urging lawmakers to move as swiftly as possible to get the bill to his desk: “We have come to an agreement with congressional leaders on a path forward for the remaining full-year funding bills. The House and Senate are now working to finalize a package that can quickly be brought to the floor, and I will sign it immediately.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that negotiators had reached a deal and that some major hurdles had been resolved, in particular funding the department of homeland security through the rest of the fiscal year. Johnson said on X: “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.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on X that both chambers were moving forward, with some details being worked out: “Senate and House leaders and the White House have reached an agreement to finish the final set of full year appropriations bills. The Senate and House Appropriations Committees are in the process of finalizing text and reports for Congress to closely review and consider ASAP.”
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