WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 27: U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with (LR) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R- -LA), Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) at the White House on February 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.
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Congress returns to the budget negotiating table this week, with a border security dispute once again threatening the outcome as a weekend government shutdown approaches.
The White House reportedly told Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and other congressional leaders on Sunday that it may give up on passing a stopgap measure through Sept. 30 rather than a permanent budget resolution for the Department of Homeland Security. Proposal for funding. Senior Republican aide. Politico First reported on the White House’s opposition to the DHS bill.
“The White House irresponsibly delayed until the 11th to communicate the reality to congressional allies.th Hours is the real story here. Their slow communication puts us on the brink of shutdown,” the Republican aide said in a statement to CNBC.
The Biden administration’s pushback comes as Capitol Hill scrambles to reach agreement on the final six funding bills to avoid a government shutdown ahead of Friday’s funding deadline.
A Democratic aide told NBC News that the White House is not outright rejecting the DHS bill, but the controversy has sent lawmakers back to work on the budget, delaying the release of budget legislation text and slowing an already troubled process. – Wired voting schedule.
Congress managed to reach agreement on the first six appropriations bills in February, but the remaining half involved labor, homeland security, education and other thornier agencies.
“The second wave of elections are tougher because they’re more partisan,” said Bobby Cogan, President Joe Biden’s former budget adviser.
Amid a heated debate over the border, a top voting issue in the 2024 elections, House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February after multiple failed impeachment attempts. Mayorkas).
In early February, Republicans rejected a foreign aid plan that would have provided $20 billion in funding for the U.S. southern border. The Senate eventually passed the foreign aid package after the border clause was struck down, but the House has not moved forward with the package since.
Negotiations have also become more difficult this week because the first six bills passed in February included lower-than-average spending cuts. That means the final six bills will need further cuts to stay within this year’s strict spending caps.
“If there’s less money available, then all of a sudden these big partisan battles become more intense,” Kogan said.
The Republican aide said that despite obstacles and looming issues with the Department of Homeland Security, negotiations on all five other bills are “concluded.” They include disagreements over funding for UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, a plan that Republicans hope to block.
Securing passage of the DHS budget bill could take up time that lawmakers don’t have. Once the text of the legislation is released, House members have 72 hours to review it before voting, leaving less time for the Senate to vote before midnight Friday, when funding for six appropriations bills expires.
If Congress fails to make a timely decision, a partial government shutdown will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Shutdowns that have barely occurred this fiscal year have become the norm as Capitol Hill has struggled for six months to secure a permanent budget deal and has resorted to short-term stopgap measures to stay afloat.
Budgets for Medicare and Social Security remain unchanged during the shutdown because those programs are not funded by appropriations bills. The shutdowns also won’t significantly impact markets, although they may stoke perceptions of economic uncertainty.
The immediate impact will be felt in the halls of government, with thousands of federal employees being furloughed. When the government resumes operations, most workers are required by law to receive back pay, but some contract workers do not enjoy such protections.
The longer the federal government shutdown lasts, the more likely its effects will be felt beyond Washington.
“If this goes on long enough, our states are going to start panicking and backing off from their own plans,” Cogan said. “Shutdowns are bad, but the longer they go on, the more they turn into a disaster.”
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