Congressional leaders are racing to finalize a government spending proposal as they near the end of negotiations just days before federal funding is set to lapse on Dec. 20.
Negotiators in the House and Senate have been working for weeks to come to an agreement on a stopgap funding bill that would punt spending deadlines into early next year while also providing tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid. It’s not yet clear when negotiators will finish talks, but lawmakers are expected to unveil the bill text of the appropriations legislation Sunday.
That would tee the bill up for a final vote sometime next week before lawmakers leave town for the December recess.
The details of the temporary spending deal are not clear, although it’s expected to punt the funding deadline to March. That way, Republicans can use their newfound majorities in the House and Senate as well as control of the White House to control what goes into the budget for fiscal 2025.
However, negotiators have hit some snags over how much disaster aid to include in the legislation after receiving a request from the White House last month for more than $98 billion in emergency aid to boost recovery efforts from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
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It’s unknown whether the appropriations legislation will include that much money or if there will be provisions in the bill text to offset those costs — raising concerns among some GOP lawmakers who disapprove of increased spending.
The deadline for such a deal is Dec. 20, after which the government will enter a partial shutdown, and funding will lapse for several federal agencies until a budget is passed. The initial deadline was Sept. 30, the day before fiscal 2025 began, but lawmakers voted to extend that past the November election.
