Spending deal done, though final action could slip past deadline
Source: Roll Call
Posted March 18, 2024 at 4:26pm, Updated at 9:42pm
House GOP and Biden administration negotiators reached a fiscal 2024 Homeland Security spending deal Monday night, even as agencies face a potential brief appropriations lapse this weekend with time running tight. Appropriators still need to put the finishing touches on the Homeland Security bill and report text following the White House’s last-second intervention over the weekend.
Sources close to the talks aren’t ruling out a brief partial shutdown, though they are minimizing the potential effects of such a lapse given how close negotiators are to a deal and the likely short duration of any shutdown. Lawmakers could pass a short-term stopgap bill to keep agencies operating for a few days, though sources say appropriators are not yet working on that patch. And lawmakers’ desire to start their two-week Easter recess on time — and catch the start of March Madness this weekend — could inspire quicker action.
Appropriators began writing the final version of the DHS bill Monday while final kinks were still being worked out. Once the bill is finished, committee aides need time to do their typical “readout” or line-by-line review, and then finish putting the final pieces of the bill together, known as “laying in.” And the Congressional Budget Office would still need to score it to measure the budgetary impact and whether it adheres to statutory spending caps.
As a result, the formal posting of the final six-bill package could slip to as late as Wednesday, sources familiar with the state of play said, though they were hoping to unveil it late Tuesday. If Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., adheres to his chamber’s 72-hour review window before the vote — likely to be on suspension of the rules, requiring two-thirds support — that could push off the House vote until Saturday. And then given Senate procedural hoops, including at least one potential cloture vote, it could be Monday before the package heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2024/03/18/procedural-hoops-could-drag-wrapup-spending-bill-into-weekend/
