Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hailed a package of six government funding bills on Sunday as “good news” that prevents a government shutdown “without cuts or poison pill riders.”
Schumer and congressional leaders unveiled the long-awaited package Sunday afternoon, with hopes to get the set passed before a March 8 partial government shutdown deadline. Congress made an extension to the previous week’s funding deadline in order to introduce and pass the package.
“It’s good news that Congress has finally reached a bipartisan agreement on the first six government funding bills that will keep the government open,” Schumer said in a statement. “We are proud to be keeping the government open without cuts or poison pill riders.”
The six spending bills focus on funding the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Justice, Commerce and Energy through this fall. In total, the bills will allocate about $450 billion.
Both Democrats and Republicans responded to the package by taking victory laps on certain inclusions. GOP members touted cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the funding package, while Democrats hailed protections for certain welfare programs.
A number of conservative Republicans have urged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to throw out the negotiations and instead pursue a one-year funding measure with universal budget cuts.
The funding bills are expected to be introduced and voted on this week in the House, where they will likely need bipartisan support and are likely to pass the Senate.
“The clock is now ticking until government funding runs out this Friday,” Schumer said. “Between now and the end of the week, the House must quickly pass and send the Senate this bipartisan package.”
Livia Gomes Demarchi and Anthony Fusco play dual roles in Aurora Theatre Co.’s production of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s “Manahatta.” (Courtesy Kevin Berne/Aurora Theatre Co.) 