WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 27: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with (LR) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), Majority Leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer (D- Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Minority Leader, at the White House on February 27, 2024 in Washington, DC
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Congress is back at the budget negotiating table this week, and disputes over border security are once again threatening to torpedo talks as the weekend government shutdown draws ever closer.
On Sunday, the White House told Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other members of Congress that it could scrap their proposal to fund the Department of Homeland Security through a stopgap measure through Sept. 30 instead of issuing a permanent budget resolution a senior GOP adviser. Politico first reported the White House’s objection to the DHS bill.
“The White House’s irresponsible delay in communicating the reality to its allies in Congress until the 11th hour is the real story here. Your delay in communication has brought us to the brink of a shutdown,” the GOP aide said in a statement to CNBC.
The Biden administration’s pushback comes as Capitol Hill struggles to reach agreement on the final six budget bills to avert a government shutdown before Friday’s funding deadline.
A Democratic aide told NBC News that the White House did not reject the DHS bill outright, but the dispute sent lawmakers back to the drawing board, delaying the release of budget text and slowing an already stalled work-schedule the vote.
Congress successfully reached agreement on the first six budget bills in February, but the remaining half covers thornier areas like labor, homeland security, education and more.
“With this second group, they are tougher because they are more partisan,” said Bobby Kogan, a former budget aide under President Joe Biden.
The border is a top voting issue in the 2024 election, and amid the heat of that controversy, House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February after several failed attempts.
In early February, Republicans scrapped a foreign aid package that would have provided $20 billion in funding for the U.S. southern border. The Senate eventually passed the foreign aid package after stripping border provisions, but the House has not advanced it since.
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This week’s negotiations were also complicated by the fact that the first six bills passed in February contained below-average spending cuts. That means deeper cuts will be needed to keep these final six bills within this year’s tight spending caps.
“With even less money available, these big partisan battles suddenly become tougher,” Kogan said.
Despite the obstacles and potential DHS hurdle, negotiations on all five other bills are “complete,” the GOP aide said. These include disagreements over funding for UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees, which Republicans sought to block.
Securing a DHS budget proposal could take up time that lawmakers don’t have. Once the text of the bill is released, House members will have 72 hours to review it before voting, giving the Senate even less time to vote before midnight Friday, when funding for the six budget bills expires.
If Congress doesn’t make it in time, the government will be partially shut down starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Near-shutdowns have become commonplace this fiscal year as Capitol Hill has struggled for six months to reach a lasting budget deal, instead using short-term stopgap measures to keep the lights on.
During a government shutdown, Medicare and Social Security budgets remain unaffected because the programs are not funded by budget proposals. Closures also tend not to move markets significantly, although they can create a perception of economic uncertainty.
The immediate impact is felt most acutely in the halls of government, where thousands of federal employees will have their pay suspended. Most workers are required by law to receive back pay when the government resumes work. However, some contract workers do not enjoy this protection.
The longer the federal shutdowns last, the more likely their effects will be felt outside of Washington.
“If it goes on long enough, our states will freak out and pull out of their own programs,” Kogan said. “Shutdowns are bad, but the longer they last, the more they become disasters.”
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2024-03-18 18:09:19
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