Lawmakers have just nine business days to decide how to fund the government before the government shutdown deadline, and Speaker Mike Johnson will almost certainly need votes from House Democrats to pass the bill. .
Congress is likely to pass a stopgap government funding measure by Dec. 20, likely funding the government through March next year at current levels. But given Johnson’s narrow lead and the chamber’s notable conservative faction, which generally does not support the stopgap spending bill known as the continuing resolution, House Democrats could be the ones with the goal of passing the bill. expensive.
Moving the funding deadline into the new year, when Republicans typically control all the power, would electrify Democrats. But this time they don’t fight much.
Leadership negotiations are currently underway, but the Democratic Party has made it clear that it has one main ad hoc demand. It is a powerful additional package for dealing with disaster relief. They also want to make sure stopgap measures do not include layoffs or partisan riders.
The White House has requested nearly $100 billion to help recover from several natural disasters across the country, including Hurricanes Helen and Milton, wildfires on Maui and tornadoes in the Midwest.
To be clear, Democrats have no intention of causing a government shutdown over additional policies and preventing Congress from going home for the holidays. If the continuing resolution is as “clean” as lawmakers say, it will work to keep government open.
But they are trying to negotiate as much funding as possible to meet the numbers requested by the White House, and getting the money to states hardest hit by natural disasters is a priority. It makes something clear. If this number is too low, expect some last-minute disruption.
And Republican appropriators have hinted that the total amount of additional funds could be significantly less than the White House requested. Asked for details on the status of negotiations on Monday, appropriators on both sides said they would not share top-line numbers, saying it was a sign of potential problems ahead.
Some news: Two important pieces of legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which funds the majority of the nation’s job training programs, and the Older Adults Act, which funds a variety of services for older adults. There is a possibility that a continuance resolution will be adopted. They have received approval from the committee’s top four leaders, people familiar with the negotiations told POLITICO.
In any case, don’t expect the text to be released until the end of the week. As we reported on Friday, the soft deadline for the release of bill text is typically the Sunday before the closure cliff, in this case Dec. 15.
And keep in mind: the less time lawmakers have to consider a bill, the more likely it is to move quickly through the floor.
Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
