Lawmakers in both parties appear optimistic about passing six major funding bills by their Friday deadline, but are more skeptical about the progress for the six other bills, deemed “problematic,” due by the end of the month.
The tricky bills include funding for Ukraine, Israel, the Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others.
“I feel like there’s some optimism, obviously we’re talking about six right now,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR.), who is on the subcommittee that handles funding for the IRS, said this week. “We got another six, those are the more problematic ones. We’ve still got a few issues that were divided on, but it’s what we do. We negotiate back and forth and find some agreement.”
Negotiators on Capitol Hill have been mostly tight-lipped on the progress of the more difficult six bills, but have pointed at difficulties in finding common ground.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has also faced intense pressure to secure policy wins for hardline Republicans, but negotiators warn there could be more disappointment for Republicans in the near future.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) said the bill for the Interior Department, which he oversees, got some important wins, but the larger and more partisan package was cut.
“A lot of stuff that got dropped out, as we knew it would, and everybody knew it would, but they want to make a statement on the floor, and that’s okay,” Simpson told reporters this week. “But the Democrats were never going to agree with a lot of those things. But I think we got some good provisions. So, did Democrats frankly, that’s kind of the nature of a compromise.”
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Leaders in both chambers were able to agree on a stopgap measure earlier this week, which was signed by President Joe Biden on Friday. and avoided a shutdown by an additional week.
It included an agreement to focus on funding the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs by March 8. An agreement on the other bills is due on March 22.
