Congressional leaders unveil 2-step plan to fend off shutdown 

Congressional leaders rolled out a two-step plan to stave off a partial government shutdown this week, kicking the funding threat into early March to buy more time for spending talks.  

The legislation, unveiled Sunday evening, would fund some areas of the federal government through March 1, while extending funding for the remaining agencies through March 8. It would be the third funding stopgap, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to pass since fiscal 2023 funding expired in September.

Congress must pass the CR ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline for a partial government shutdown.

The two-step format is the same structure that Congress previously approved, with current deadlines on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2, that was intended to avoid a massive single omnibus spending bill as House Republicans push for separating out regular funding bills.

Four of the 12 annual appropriations bills would see funding extended at the temporary levels through the March 1 cutoff date, including dollars for agencies like the Departments of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, Energy, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. 

The remaining eight bills fall under the March 8 deadline. Agencies funded by those bills include the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. 

The deal comes a week after both sides struck an agreement on how much to fund the federal government through September. But appropriators still need more time to hash out the 12 annual spending bills for fiscal 2024.

The agreement to a short-term CR is a blow to hard-line House Republicans who had been pushing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to adopt a long-term stopgap, which would have the threat of automatic cuts after April as written in the Financial Responsibility Act debt limit bill from last year. The threat of those cuts, hard-liners argue, are both a fallback option to cut spending more and another leverage point to attempt to extract concessions from Democrats on the spending bills, such as concessions on border and migration policy.  

The top-line funding deal outraged House conservatives, who spent last week pushing Speaker Johnson to pull out of the agreement.

The short-term deal is also likely to draw howls from conservatives aiming to reduce spending. Some have also insisted border provisions must be added to any funding measure, meaning Johnson will likely have to rely on Democratic votes to pass the CR.

In the meantime, spending cardinals say they are still awaiting the allocations of each of the 12 full-year bills.

“I mean the difficulty is that, with less money, everybody's trying to figure out how to make this work,” Sen. Jerry Moran (Kan.), top Republican on the subcommittee that crafts funding for the departments of Commerce and Justice, said this week. 

But some have also signaled hang-ups dealing with particular agencies in spending talks.  

In comments to reporters on Friday, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a spending cardinal, cited the Department of Homeland Security as a potential factor contributing to the delay as senators work on a separate border and foreign aid package.  

“If there's going to be additional money there, that would affect potentially what you would want to put in a regular appropriations bill,” Cole said, adding, “they're not directly related, but it's a legitimate issue to raise, and I think Democrats in particular are very concerned about that.” 

Democrats have also sounded alarm over the so-called “poison pill” riders House Republicans have been pushing for in the funding bills, including those targeting diversity initiatives and abortion access. 

“No one back home wants to see a shutdown or chaos, so let’s quickly pass this CR and work to finalize serious appropriations bills, free of partisan poison pills, that protect key investments in our country’s future,” Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Sunday. 

Speaker Johnson said in a statement, “Last week, House Republicans achieved an improved topline agreement that will finally allow the House and Senate to complete the annual appropriations bills."

“The agreement reduces the worst gimmicks included in the previous side deals in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and now includes $16 billion in additional real spending cuts from the Democrats’ IRS and COVID-era slush funds. Because the completion deadlines are upon us, a short continuing resolution is required to complete what House Republicans are working hard to achieve: an end to governance by omnibus, meaningful policy wins, and better stewardship of American tax dollars.”

Johnson told members that Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) will be hospitalized this week following a car crash and will not be in the Capitol, according to a GOP lawmaker on the call, which will further narrow the conference's razor-thin majority.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that the Senate will “begin the process” to pass the measure Tuesday, giving Congress “the time it needs to finish our work to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.” 

"To avoid a shutdown, it will take bipartisan cooperation in the Senate and the House to quickly pass the CR and send it to the President’s desk before Friday’s funding deadline," he added.

Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell contributed

Updated at 9:10 pm.