Congressional leaders agreed Wednesday to a funding deal that would prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend, extending the expiration dates for federal finances until later in March as lawmakers iron out the final details of a $1.7 trillion spending package.
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Leaders in Congress agree to delay government shutdown deadlines
Under this agreement between House and Senate leadership, funding for those departments and the Commerce, Justice and Interior departments would expire on March 8 instead, a week later than planned. Funding for the rest of the government, including the Defense and State departments, would be extended until March 22. Two people familiar with the budget talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the fragility of the negotiations, confirmed the details of the plan.
The idea is to give lawmakers more time to finalize full-year spending legislation for those agencies. But now the agreement will set off a mad dash on Capitol Hill to approve the extension, called a continuing resolution or CR, before the clock strikes midnight on Friday and sets off even a brief shutdown. Even after the deal was reached, it’s not certain that Congress will be able to act in time.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) floated the extension Tuesday to Democrats, who reacted favorably — but only to a point.
“If that’s what it takes to get this done, then let’s do it. But this ‘kicking the can down the road’ crap really does need to stop,” said Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.), the top Democratic negotiator on the defense appropriations bill.
Congress has passed three short-term spending bills between September and January. In November, Johnson pushed through a CR that staggered the expiration dates for federal funding, then extended them with another continuing resolution in January as lawmakers continued to struggle to pass spending measures for the rest of the 2024 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2023, and ends Sept. 30.