Congress unveils bill to avert Friday government shutdown with over $100B in disaster aid
Congressional leaders are unveiling their plan to avoid a partial government shutdown by the Friday federal funding deadline.
House Republicans released the 1,547-page text of a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 government funding levels to give lawmakers more time to agree on funding the rest of FY 2025.
It’s the second such extension, called a continuing resolution (CR), since FY 2024 ended on Sept. 30.
The bill extends FY 2024 government funding levels through March 14, while also including more than $100 billion in funding for disaster relief after storms Helene and Milton battered the U.S. Southeast just months ago. A further $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers is also included.
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The legislation has health care provisions aimed at lessening the influence of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and legislation aimed at revitalizing Washington, DC’s RFK Stadium and the surrounding area.
The bill will also make way for outbound investment legislation, to crack down on the flow of U.S. dollars benefitting Chinese military and technology firms overseas.
Recent drone activity on the Eastern Seaboard that's alarmed private citizens and lawmakers alike also inspired negotiators to include a reauthorization and extension of the government's Unmanned Aircraft Systems program.
To offset some of that funding, House leadership staff said the bill will allow the Treasury to recoup some of the funds the federal government spent rebuilding the Baltimore Key Bridge.
It must pass the GOP-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate by Friday and hit President Biden’s desk by midnight that day to avoid a partial government shutdown.
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Last-minute negotiations delayed the bill’s expected Sunday release to Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, GOP hardliners are crying foul at Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for stacking what they anticipated would be a "clean" CR with unrelated policy riders.
"We talked with the speaker up until this weekend, the only discussion was ‘How long is this clean CR going to be?’ And suddenly we find out – I heard rumors over the weekend – they’re negotiating with a health care package that included PBM stuff," Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.
"I think it’s absolutely disgusting to bring forward a several-thousand-page bill that nobody’s read, even today, nobody’s even seen it, and then they expect us to vote on it without any debate."
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Allies of President-elect Trump had pushed for a short-term extension into the new year to give his administration, and a fully Republican Congress, more control over government funding.
But some GOP lawmakers worried that fighting the previous year’s battles will risk derailing the forward-facing agenda Republicans hope to enact in Trump’s first 100 days.
"His agenda is going to be subject to a one-seat majority for some time, in the best case scenario, he gets about three or four seats. So we don’t have much margin for error," one House Republican said.