FY 2022 Government Appropriations Possible Before Concurrent CR Expires
Appropriations negotiators in the House have reportedly worked through the night finalizing a $1.5 trillion omnibus package on government funding and are close to an agreement. House Democrats have indicated they'll release the text on Tuesday coupled with a House vote on Wednesday, no additional disputes arise.
To avoid a government shutdown, both chambers of Congress would need to pass the appropriations bill by this Friday, March 11–the concurrent extension date of fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the Rules Committee would likely meet on Tuesday to discuss the measure. Rep. Hoyer expressed hopes that another continuing resolution (CR) is not necessary.
House Democrats aren't yet discussing a stopgap, focusing on the omnibus, but negotiators have little time with Democrats poised to leave Wednesday afternoon for their annual retreat in Philadelphia. In fact, House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) declined to answer questions on whether lawmakers would need a stopgap by the end of the week.
“I am going to try and make sure that we meet our deadline. That’s our goal,” Rep. DeLauro stated, “We’re getting to where we need to go. Many of the bills are done already.”
If the omnibus legislation passes the House, the bill may face opposition in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) opposes an omnibus provision that would extend waivers that allowed schools to serve free meals during the pandemic; an aide explained the waivers were temporary and would end as soon as schools resumed normal operations.
“You want to be sure that both sides are in full agreement that every word is exactly what they both agree that every word should be,” Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) highlighted, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Currently, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill and the Homeland Security bill present issues for House leadership.
“We’re in a good place to get a budget agreement with a robust emergency title for Ukraine,” Senator Chis Murphy (D-CT) said, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “We’ve been working on the language throughout the weekend, and I’m hopeful we’ll get it done just under the wire this week.”
