Congressional leaders have struck a bi-partisan deal for a stop-gap spending bill that will fund the federal government through to the first few months of 2025.
The last-minute legislation, unveiled on Tuesday night in Capitol Hill, includes $100 billion in disaster relief – including aid for communities damaged by hurricanes Milton and Helene – $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers as well as provisions focused on renewing expiring health care programs and restricting U.S. investments in China.
Lawmakers were under pressure to strike a deal ahead of the midnight Friday deadline – when the current funding measure is set to expire.
The new bill pushes the next government shutdown deadline to March 14 instead of the end of the week.
The new 1,547-page package bill gives president-elect Donald Trump and the new Republican-led Congress minimal time to establish funding priorities before he enters office in January 2025.
Legislators faced the added challenge of a one-day setback as leaders of both parties battled it out to assert their own legislative priorities in the end-of-year Christmas package.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters late Tuesday: “We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits.
“Congress is doing the best it can under difficult circumstances, and I think it will be a big boost for the [agricultural] industry,” he added.
Typically, House Republicans give lawmakers 72 hours to review the intricacies of each new legislative action – which would push a vote on the final passage of this emergency bill to Friday if they follow suit.
However, it remains unclear when the Republican-controlled House will vote.
If the Democratic-majority Senate is successful, it will aim to pass the legislation ahead of the midnight Friday deadline and send it to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
The Senate would not usually act under such pressure but moved hastily as many lawmakers are anxious ahead of stark changes set to come with the new administration in the new year.
The shift in priorities under Trump will be to Republican party-line measures, such as tax cuts, immigration funding, and a domestic energy policy.
