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WASHINGTON — The House and Senate today overwhelmingly approved stopgap funding once again to keep the federal government open, this time until early March, extending the current continuing resolution (CR) and averting a partial shutdown set to begin Saturday.
The agreement was mostly expected to pass after a deal between House and Senate leadership was announced Jan. 14. The renewed CR retains a two-tiered approach, where funding for some agencies would expire on March 1, while the Defense Department and others would run out of money on March 8.
Senators previously indicated they would vote on the measure today, and their counterparts in the House were left with no choice but to do the same after legislative business was canceled on Friday due to a forecast for snow. The vote in the Democratic-led Senate was 77-18, while the House passed the bill 314-108, with House Republican leadership relying heavily on Democratic support to fast-track the bill’s passage amid conservative opposition.
Lawmakers now have a little more time to hammer out the particulars of a full fiscal year 2024 spending bill after House and Senate leadership on Jan. 7 announced an agreement on a topline of over a trillion and a half dollars. According to the Washington Post, the proposal would fund the Pentagon to the tune of $886.3 billion, adhering to spending caps imposed by last year’s accord to raise the debt ceiling known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
But the short-term CR passed today, as well as the proposed FY24 spending deal, could imperil the speakership of Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who rose to the role after his predecessor was ousted for agreeing to a similar funding patch. Far-right lawmakers are now threatening to call for a vote to vacate Johnson from his post over the speaker’s deal-cutting with Democrats.
The extension of funding at FY23 levels is also sure to frustrate leadership at the Pentagon, which has warned of “historically costly” consequences to key modernization projects if FY24 funding isn’t passed. The CR passed today, however, does continue a carveout for the Navy’s Columbia class submarine effort so that the service can move forward with contracts for building a second submarine.
Separately, lawmakers are also weighing a supplemental appropriations bill championed by President Joe Biden that includes billions in funding for Ukraine and Israel, the former of which the Pentagon says it has run out of money to arm. House Republicans have been pushing for concessions on border policies from Democrats as part of a package deal.
Following a White House meeting with Biden on Wednesday, leaders from both parties appeared more upbeat about the prospects of passing the supplemental, despite opposition from far-right Republicans who have increasingly balked at further funding for Ukraine.
“For the first time, I believe the odds are a little better than 50 percent that we can get something done,” Senate Majority Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in an address on the Senate floor today.
“But certainly it’s not a done deal yet,” he added. “We have a number of disagreements we’re still working through.”
Speaking to reporters as he boarded Marine One today, Biden added that he didn’t believe any sticking points were left in the negotiations.
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