To avert a government shutdown, lawmakers in charge of the discussions on a measure to finance the federal government said late on Tuesday that they had achieved an agreement on a “framework” that would enable them to finish the bill’s work during the coming week.
Congress has until Friday at midnight to enact a budget measure. Another short-term legislation to fund the government until December 23 is anticipated to be passed by the two houses before that date. This will give negotiators time to finish their work on the full-year bill.
“Now, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will work around the clock to negotiate the details of final 2023 spending bills that can be supported by the House and Senate and receive President Biden’s signature,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressed optimism that Republicans could accomplish their goals of raising defense spending without “having to pay a bonus over what President Biden asked for” on non-defense objectives. Democrats, he said, were ready to accept that because they had already approved two laws on a party-line basis that permit increased expenditure on a number of domestic concerns.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., stated last week that, excluding mandated expenditure on programs like Social Security and Medicare, the two parties were only around $25 billion off on the estimated $1.65 trillion plan.
