On Sunday (September 22), the leaders of the United States Congress announced that a temporary agreement has been reached on a short-term spending bill that will provide funding for federal agencies for approximately three months. This agreement aims to avoid a partial government shutdown that may have occurred at the start of the new budget year on October 1, and to postpone the final appropriations decision until after the November elections.
The temporary spending bill essentially provides funding for various agencies at current levels, but includes an additional $2.31 billion in funding to strengthen the Secret Service following two assassination attempts against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Moreover, it also includes extra funding for presidential transition.
With the end of the current budget year approaching at the end of the month, lawmakers have been working diligently towards this goal. At the urging of the most conservative members, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana had initially tied the temporary funding to a provision requiring states to ask for proof of citizenship in voter registrations.
President Trump insisted on not giving up restrictions on voter registration, but Speaker Johnson ultimately abandoned this approach in order to reach an agreement.
Shortly thereafter, negotiations between the two parties officially began, and the leaders agreed to extend the funding until mid-December. This way, the current Congress can draft a full year spending bill after the November 5 election, rather than passing the responsibility to the next Congress and President.
In a letter to his Republican colleagues, Johnson stated that the budget measures will be “narrow in scope and simple,” including only “absolutely necessary extensions.”
Johnson wrote, “While this is not a solution that anyone in our midst likes, under the current circumstances, this is the most prudent approach, as historical experience and current polling indicate that shutting down the government less than 40 days before a presidential election is a form of political malpractice.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York had stated that the Democrats would conduct a comprehensive assessment of the bill before voting this week, but after reaching the agreement, he said, “Congress is now working towards bipartisan cooperation to avoid a government shutdown that would hurt ordinary Americans.”
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma said on Friday that the negotiations were progressing smoothly.
Cole stated, “So far, there hasn’t been any issue that we can’t resolve. Most people don’t want a government shutdown and don’t want the election to be impacted, so nobody is saying, ‘I must have this result or we strike,’ that hasn’t happened.”
Johnson’s earlier efforts in the Democrat-controlled Senate had no chance, and faced opposition from the White House, but it did give him a chance to show Trump and his conservative allies that he was indeed fighting for their demands.
The end result is that government funding is essentially on autopilot. This was predicted by many. With just a few weeks left until the election, lawmakers from either party were unwilling to take risks and pursue fringe policies, as it often leads to a government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that a similar agreement could have been reached two weeks ago, but “Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA (Make America Great Again) way, wasting valuable time.”
Schumer said, “As I have said throughout the process, it takes bipartisan, bicameral support to get the job done.”
It is expected that both party majorities will push for the short-term measures to pass this week. However, reaching an agreement on the final spending bill in December won’t necessarily be easy. If one party significantly outperforms the other in the election, it could influence political considerations and potentially prolong the struggle into early next year.
Funding for the Secret Service also comes with conditions, as lawmakers require the Department of Homeland Security to provide certain information to a House special working group and Senate committee to investigate the assassination attempts against Trump.
The Secret Service recently informed lawmakers in a letter that the security breach on July 13 involving Trump was not due to lack of funds, but Deputy Director Ronald Rowe Jr. stated this week that the agency has “urgent needs” and is in communication with Congress.
(This article referenced reports from the Associated Press)