March is Next Shutdown Deadline after Congress Passes CR
Early March is the next government funding deadline, after President Biden signed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open ahead of the January 19 and February 2 funding deadlines.
The CR easily passed both chambers of Congress, passing the Senate 77 to 18 and the House 314 to 108. In the House, 106 Republicans voted against the legislation, expressing their discontent over Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) refusal to further cut spending or force more action on the House border security bill.
The CR funds the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and military housing, and the Food and Drug Administration, until March 1. All other agencies are funded until March 8.
The goal is to give appropriators time to write and pass the 12 appropriations bills to fund the government through fiscal year (FY) 2024.
However, the clock is already ticking, and both chambers are running up against an unfriendly calendar.
Race Against the Clock
The House is on a ten-day break until January 29. The House is then slated for a two-week break starting February 16. House GOP leaders plan to bring members back early ahead of the March 1 deadline.
Senators, meanwhile, have two shortened weeks to end January, and will then be out of town from February 8 until February 26.
That puts the House and Senate in Washington together on just seven days before the next funding deadline, two of which are shortened travel days.
Congressional leaders still have not decided how to divvy up the $1.66 trillion topline funding, which includes $886 billion for defense, and $772.7 billion for nondefense.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) indicated that partisan squabbles over at least two of the bills are to blame.
“We can’t get the 12 bills passed until we agree on the 12,” Senator Murray said.
That has some Senators, like Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), thinking that another CR will be necessary, if a government shutdown is to be avoided in March.
“I think that’s where we’re headed, unless something dramatic happens,” said Senator Durbin.
Complicating things further, the Senate has ongoing talks to unlock aid to Ukraine in exchange for tougher border control and asylum policy measures.
One of the Democratic negotiators, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), says appropriations needs to be finished first, so the numbers can fall into place, adding there’s no deal “until everything’s done, including appropriations.”