U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R.L.A., speak during a lighting ceremony for the Capitol Menorah at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on December 12 , DC with each other, 2023.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
Top congressional leaders reached a partial budget deal on Capitol Hill Wednesday to temporarily avert a government shutdown.
Leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) reached agreement on six funding bills, four of which were set to expire Friday.
Those bills and their corresponding agencies, which included Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Housing, will now remain funded until March 8th. The remainder of government funding will be extended until March 22nd.
“We agree that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the deal as early as Thursday. The Senate will follow and Biden will then sign it.
The funding extensions are intended to give Congress “ample time” to develop language for the agreed-upon bills, allow members of Congress time to review the text and complete other technical legislative processes, the joint statement said.
According to a person familiar with the negotiations, Johnson had only agreed to extend those funding deadlines if an agreement could be reached on the six bills. Otherwise there could have been a partial government shutdown on Saturday.
Government shutdowns typically do not move markets significantly, but they can create a perception of economic uncertainty.
Members of Congress were optimistic that the deal could be reached, especially after a meeting at the White House on Tuesday with President Joe Biden and the four congressional leaders, including Johnson.
This is the fourth time this fiscal year that Congress has had to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded and avert a near-shutdown.
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2024-02-28 22:55:20
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