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Congressional leaders released the second and final bipartisan package of six fiscal year 2024 budget proposals, putting lawmakers in a race against time to pass the bills before a midnight deadline Friday.
The $1.2 trillion package includes defense, homeland security, financial services and general government, the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, legislative branches and foreign operations. It funds the federal government through September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
“This bill funds our highest national security priorities: investing in a more modern, innovative and ready fighting force, continuing strong support for our great ally Israel, and providing critical border enforcement resources. do.” House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, said in a statement.
“There is absolutely no need for a shutdown or disruption,” said Democratic Senator Patty Murray (Washington), chairman and vice chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Republican Susan Collins (Maine), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“Lawmakers should waste no time passing these six bills that will greatly benefit every state in America and reflect important priorities of many senators,” the two said in a statement.
The package represents the second set of annual spending bills. Congress voted on the first batch on March 8.
Now that the text has been released, the question is whether Congress can vote on the package before the midnight deadline on Friday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Wednesday that he expects the House to vote on Friday. That schedule means his lawmakers will not have 72 hours to read the text before voting on the package promised by House GOP leaders.
“Republicans believe in the idea that we should review bills before we vote on them, and the 72-hour practice, the tradition, is something we maintain,” Johnson said after a closed-door meeting at the Republican conference. “We're also facing a weekend crisis, with some members on both sides of the aisle going on trips and things like that. So we're talking about how to get it done as quickly as possible, but we could also allow it all to happen as lawmakers review the bill.” “Make sure you have enough time to do it,” he said.
Johnson is likely to pass a suspension package that would require a two-thirds vote threshold. He will need strong bipartisan support for the package to pass, especially since he does not have the support of the House Freedom Caucus. There was initial pushback from Freedom Caucus members Wednesday as it seemed increasingly likely that members would not get the 72-hour review period.
“Look, here’s this town’s dirty little secret: They don’t like taking the time to consider bills that the American people won’t like,” said Texas Rep. Chip Roy. The Freedom Caucus's policy chair said Wednesday morning: “If this bill is held up for two weeks, it's going to be criticized like a piñata. So they're trying to get it passed in the next 48 hours so the American people don't have time to say, 'Wait a minute, what the hell?'”
What's in the package?
As expected after intense bipartisan negotiations, both sides are touting a political victory.
“House Republicans have scored significant conservative policy victories, rejected extreme Democratic proposals, and strengthened border security and national defense while making deep cuts to wasteful agencies and programs,” Johnson said. emphasized the increase. , cut funding for NGOs and strengthen funding for border protection technologies.
Another victory for Republicans is a provision preventing the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves and allowing only American and official flags to be flown at embassies. The bill also preserves the Hyde Amendment, which has banned federal funding for most abortions for decades.
Johnson and other Republicans are also praising a provision that would cut off funding for UNWRA, the U.N. agency that provides aid to the Palestinians, until March 2025. The Israeli military said in early February that it had discovered a series of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip headquarters of UNRWA. Hamas, the armed group that carried out a brutal attack against Israeli civilians on October 7, stored electrical supplies in the tunnel. Israel also claimed that 12 UNRWA staff participated in Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7. UNRWA said it was “taking swift action” after Israel presented the evidence, and the Biden administration decided to cut off funding to the agency.
Roy told reporters on Wednesday that he was satisfied with the provisions revoking UNRWA funding.
“At the end of the day, if we lost at least once in UNWRA, that would be great,” he said, adding that he called UNWRA a “victory.”[it] “72 hours does not compensate for the failure to read the bill and resolve some of the Department's problems.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are praising a $1 billion increase for child care and early learning programs within HHS. Approximately $12 billion was allocated to Head Start to address staffing shortages in educational support programs for 3- and 4-year-olds.
NPR's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.