Congress unveils first six budget bills as government shutdown clock ticks

Congressional
lawmakers
on
Sunday
released
the
details
of
the

first
six
budget
bills
needed
to
keep
government
agencies
funded
before
they
run
out
of
money
and
a
partial

government
shutdown
takes
effect
this
coming
weekend.

The

1,050-page
appropriations
package
has
funding
for
six
major
areas
of
government
that
encompass
military
and
veterans
affairs
departments,
agriculture,
commerce,
energy
and
water,
transportation,
housing
and
more.

Funding
for
those
departments
was
due
to
expire
last
Friday,
March
1,
but
congressional
leaders
struck
a
deal
on

Wednesday
to
extend
those
deadlines
by
a
week
and
avert
a
partial
government
shutdown.
It
was
the
fourth
such
funding
extension
this
fiscal
year,
as
Congress
has
struggled
to
settle
on
a
long-term
budget
plan.

This
partial
budget
deal
is
a
step
forward
in
the
push
to
secure
a
permanent
budget
plan
for
the
rest
of
the
fiscal
year,
which
started
Oct.
1.

But
these
six
funding
bills
are
just
half
the
battle.

The
other
six
appropriations
bills
that
keep
the
rest
of
the
government
funded
are
due
to
expire
on
March
22,
giving
Capitol
Hill
just
over
two
weeks
to
negotiate
the
other
half
of
the
government’s
spending
plan.

Still,
leaders
on
both
sides
of
the
aisle
are
touting
the
first
half
of
funding
package
as
a
win,
though
for
different
reasons.

Democrats
are
trumpeting
the
continued
full
funding
of
a
special
food
assistance
program
for
women,
infants
and
children.
They
also
secured
wins
on
rent
assistance
and
pay
for
infrastructure
employees
like
air
traffic
controllers
and
railway
inspectors.

“Throughout
the
negotiations,
Democrats
fought
hard
to
protect
against
cuts
to
housing
and
nutrition
programs,
and
keep
out
harmful
provisions
that
would
further
restrict
access
to
women’s
health,
or
roll
back
the
progress
we’ve
made
to
fight
climate
change,”
Senate
Majority
Leader

Chuck
Schumer,
D-N.Y.,
said
in
a
Sunday
statement.

Meanwhile,
Republicans
are
trumpeting
victories
on
veterans’
gun
ownership
and
funding
cuts
to
government
agencies
like
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
the
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation
and
the
Bureau
of
Alcohol,
Tobacco,
Firearms
and
Explosives.

“House
Republicans
secured
key
conservative
policy
victories,
rejected
left-wing
proposals,
and
imposed
sharp
cuts
to
agencies
and
programs
critical
to
President
Biden’s
agenda,”
House
Speaker

Mike
Johnson,
R-La.,
said
in
a
statement
on
Sunday.

The
funding
package
now
heads
to
the
House
for
a
vote
where
it
will
likely
face
opposition
from
the
House
Freedom
Caucus,
a
coalition
of
Republican
hardliners
that
have
relentlessly
opposed
budget
compromises
over
the
past
fiscal
year.

“The
clock
is
now
ticking
until
government
funding
runs
out this
Friday.
Between
now
and
the
end
of
the
week,
the
House
must
quickly
pass
and
send
the
Senate
this
bipartisan
package,”
Schumer
said
Sunday.
“Once
again,
it
will
only
be
bipartisanship
that
gets
us
across
the
finish
line.”