Congress leaders reach agreement to fund govt by March: reports

Congress leaders They reached an agreement this Saturday on a short-term bill to keep the government funded until MarchAccording to media reports.

The agreement, first reported by CNN and NBC, notes that The new deadlines for government funding will be March 1 and 7 And the first funding deadline arrives before January 19. The second government funding deadline was February 2.

He The provisional bill is expected to be published on Sunday, will come as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been under pressure from his far right in recent days to scrap a recent bipartisan spending deal with Senate Democrats. The bill would need Democratic support to pass the closely divided House.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced last week that they had reached an agreement on the total spending numbers. This The figures include $1.59 trillion for fiscal year 2024with $886 billion for defense spending and $704 billion for non-defense spending.

Both leaders also A side agreement worth $69 billion in adjustments which will be earmarked for domestic expenditure not related to defence.

Just last Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted he would keep the bipartisan spending deal, but offered no clear way to overcome far-right opposition in his own party to avoid a partial government shutdown next week.

“We have a major agreement pending,” Johnson, R-Louisiana, said, referring to the budget agreement reached on Jan. 7. “We are taking the next steps together and working towards a robust appropriations process,” he said.