Months of spending negotiations and continuing resolutions may finally come to an end this week. In the scramble to avert a
Government Shutdown, congressional leaders say they have struck a deal on appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the final piece of the appropriations package needed to fund the government through the remainder of fiscal year 2024. “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.” The deal was reportedly reached late on March 18 and comes just days before the deadline to stave off a shutdown. Members will have until 11:59 p.m. on March 22 to pass the second package. But as House rules require that members be given at least 72 hours to review legislation before it is brought up for a vote, they could be cutting it close. The Senate will also have to reach a time agreement on its passage.
Congress passed the first half of the required 12 spending bills earlier this month, sidestepping a partial shutdown. The second minibus encompasses funding for about 70 percent of the government, including the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and State, as well as the legislative branch, financial services, and general government.