The six bills that Congress must pass by Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown have produced a number of Republican victories, including cuts to FBI and EPA spending.
Speaker Johnson said that despite a “divided government,” Republicans “achieved important conservative policy victories” and rejected “left-wing proposals” in the deal announced Sunday.
In addition, the text will impose “sharp cuts to agencies and programs critical to President Biden’s agenda,” he added.
Key victories cited by the speaker include banning the Justice Department from “targeting parents,” while preventing the Biden administration from pursuing veterans’ Second Amendment rights while funding their health care.
It will also impose “deep cuts” to the EPA (10%), ATF (7%) and FBI (6%), which Johnson said have “threatened our freedoms and our economy.”
The measure runs to more than 1,000 pages and includes funding for more than several federal agencies, such as the Departments of Justice and Energy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson planned the staggered approach to government funding, setting two separate deadlines: one on March 8 and another on March 22.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Republicans against adding a ‘poison pill’ policy to government funding measures
Other policy provisions in the bill would provide additional funding to the FAA to oversee production of Boeing 737 Max aircraft, while another could ban the sale of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China.
Amtrak, the long-beleaguered U.S. railroad, would also receive billions in funding.
The new funding details come after Congress passed a fourth short-term funding bill late last week, just one day before a government funding deadline.
The vote gives lawmakers additional time to pass the 12 larger appropriations measures they must approve each year for the various departments of the federal government.
This week, six appropriations bills will be lumped into a package known as a “minibus,” with each one up or down only once, congressional leaders announced Sunday.
A new funding deadline for the remaining government agencies looms on March 22, but Congress is expected to lump these bills into one to two minibus votes.
The six appropriations bills that lawmakers must pass before this week’s March 8 deadline include the bills to fund the departments of Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation -HUD.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Sunday at the bill’s release: “We are proud to keep the government open without budget cuts or poison pills.”
Still, the Democratic-led Senate will likely try to amend the measures to eliminate Republican Party policies before moving to a vote.
Congress has passed four short-term funding bills and has yet to enact appropriations measures for the 2024 fiscal year
Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House last week to discuss government funding
Leaders ultimately decided to press ahead with Johnson’s short-term spending plan, which included pushing back government funding deadlines
“Democrats have fought to protect investments that matter to working people and keep our economy strong — rejecting devastating cuts to housing, food assistance and more, while blocking extreme Republican policies like efforts to end abortion rights.” limit,” wrote Senator Patty Murray. X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who devised the staggered funding deadline strategy, tampered with Republican members’ expectations Thursday.
“If you’re expecting a lot of home runs and grand slams here, I admit you’ll be disappointed. But we will be able to achieve some policy victories,” he said.
“These bills will be littered with singles and doubles that we can be proud of, especially in our small majority.”
Johnson also expressed pride in splitting the major appropriations bills into separate votes, often passing by combining the 12 measures into what is called an “omnibus.”
“We are trying to bring the aircraft carrier back to real budgeting and spending reforms. This was important to break it down into smaller pieces,” Johnson said.
The release of the text of the spending bills gives lawmakers 72 hours to look at them before a vote, likely this week.
The remaining six bills that must be passed by March 22 are for the Departments of Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, State Foreign Operations and the Legislature.
