Congressional leaders have taken a major step toward preventing a government shutdown by reaching a bipartisan topline appropriations agreement on Sunday, NBC News reported.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced the deal, which would set a total spending level of $1.59 trillion for fiscal year 2024.
Johnson said the funding agreement includes $886 billion for the military and $704 billion for nondefense spending and that there will be “key modifications” to the deal to reduce nonmilitary spending with an “offset” of $16 billion.
President Joe Biden welcomed the bipartisan funding deal and called on congressional representatives to fund critical domestic and national security priorities.
The bipartisan funding framework “reflects the funding levels that I negotiated with both parties and signed into law last spring. It rejects deep cuts to programs hardworking families count on, and provides a path to passing full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people and are free of any extreme policies,” the president said in a statement published Sunday.
The federal government is operating under a continuing resolution. Funding for continuing federal projects and activities is set to expire on Jan. 19, and funding for defense and all other government operations will run through Feb. 2.