Congress Scrambles To Avoid Government Shutdown After Late Deal on Border Spending

WASHINGTON — Negotiators from Congress and the White House scrambled Monday to complete work on the remaining government funding bills for the fiscal year and avoid a partial shutdown for key departments that would begin this weekend without legislative action.Six months into the fiscal year, Congress is about halfway home in passing spending measures expected to total about $1.65 trillion. Lawmakers passed the first portion of spending bills in early March, funding about 30 percent of the government. Now lawmakers are focused on the larger package, and in what has become routine, are brushing up against the deadline when federal funding expires.Agreement had been reached on five of the six spending bills that make up the second package, but negotiators clashed over the measure that provides funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for securing and managing the border, among other things. A person familiar with the negotiations but not authorized to discuss them publicly said late Monday that a deal had been reached on the Homeland Security spending. The breakthrough sets the stage for Congress to dodge a partial shutdown.The stakes for both sides are immense as border security emerges as a central issue in the 2024 campaigns and the flow of migrants crossing the southern border far outpaces the capacity of the American immigration system to deal with it.Negotiators had been moving toward a simple solution: passing a continuing resolution that would mostly extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security, though with some increase from 2023 spending levels.But a senior Republican aide said House Republicans pushed for more resources for the border than the continuing resolution would have provided. The White House also eventually rejected the continuing resolution approach but didn’t make that clear in communications with congressional allies until the “11th hour,” the aide said, increasing the risk of a short-term shutdown.The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, on Monday declined to speak to timelines during the negotiations but emphasized that funding the government is lawmakers’ responsibility.“It is their job to keep the government open,” she said.Associated Press

Congress Scrambles To Avoid Government Shutdown After Late Deal on Border Spending

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