FY 2024 Funding Fight Finally Over; President Pleads for Action on Ukraine, Border
The back and forth over funding for fiscal year (FY) 2024 is finally over, as Congress passed the six remaining spending bills, bringing to end a process that took about six months and required several continuing resolutions.
That means the entire government is funded until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2024, putting to bed the talk of a shutdown, at least until the fall.
President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion spending measure shortly after the Senate passed the legislation early Saturday. And while appropriations technically expired Friday at midnight, the administration halted shutdown preparations given the high likelihood of imminent passage.
The second spending bill comes two weeks after Congress passed the first six spending bills.
The two packages account for total spending of about $1.66 trillion, not including Social Security, Medicare, or financing U.S. debt.
Among the highlights in the second wave of appropriations bills:
· A $1.1 billion boost in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) including funding for an additional 2,000 border patrol agents
· Nearly $27 billion more in funding for the Department of Defense, including a 5.2 percent pay raise for members of the U.S. military
· Cuts to funding for the State Department, Department of Education, Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services
· Funding for the construction of a new FBI headquarters without specifying a location
· Rescinds $20 billion to the IRS that was earmarked for tax enforcement under a 2022 law
After signing the legislation, President Biden urged Congress to act on aid to Ukraine and to do more on border security.
“The House must pass the bipartisan national security supplemental to advance our national security interests. And Congress must pass the bipartisan border security agreement — the toughest and fairest reforms in decades — to ensure we have the policies and funding needed to secure the border. It’s time to get this done,” the president said in a statement.
Unease Grows in House GOP
Meanwhile, more conservative House Republicans are growing uneasy with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) moving such legislation through with the assistance of democrats and not delivering on their demands.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) initiated an effort to oust the speaker, similar to the effort that ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy.
That motion will sit until the House returns in two weeks.