(WASHINGTON) — The long-awaited bipartisan government funding package bill text was released early Thursday morning, and Congress is now racing to meet Friday’s deadline to avert a partial government shutdown.
The $1.2 trillion package — considered a major bipartisan effort in the highly divided House — provides funding for six bills including Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor and Health and Human Services and Education, Legislative Branch and State and Foreign Operations.
Both Republicans and Democrats are ticking off their wins in the package — including several controversial measures such as blocking funds for the main United Nations humanitarian organization operating in Gaza as well as increasing enforcement at the southern border and addressing women’s reproductive rights.
If the package passes, the government will be funded through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30 — putting an end to the continuing resolution cycle that has led to Congress nearly shutting the government down, at least partially, five times since October.
It’s expected that the House will vote on the funding package Friday, which gives the Senate limited time to take up the package before the Friday deadline. Although no vote has been officially scheduled, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the House will likely vote on the government funding package on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
Even with the bill’s text finalized, lawmakers are up against the clock to prevent a shutdown. The House has a rule requiring 72 hours for members to review legislation before voting; the Senate also can take a few days to process House-passed bills. That means that unless the Johnson waives the 72-hour rule or the Senate speeds up the process, there could be a small administrative shutdown over the weekend, which would have little-to-no impact the federal agencies that are included in the bill.
Johnson hasn’t said if he will waive the 72-hour rule. Asked about it on CNBC Thursday morning, Johnson said he believes a shutdown will be avoided.
“We have to keep moving, we have to keep the government funded, we have to keep operating, keep the train on the tracks — and you’re seeing that happen here,” Johnson said on CNBC. “Because of divided government, it’s not a perfect piece of legislation. It’s not the one we would draft and pass if Republicans had control of the House, Senate and the White House … but right now we are managing it and getting it through and I think that we will avoid a long shutdown for the government.”
Johnson said in a statement the government funding package “is a serious commitment to strengthening our national defense” and “halts funding for the United Nations agency which employed terrorists who participated in the October 7 attacks against Israel.”
The spending deal would extend a Biden administration freeze on the U.N. agency through March 2025, a move that could leave the agency with a shortfall amid the hunger crisis in Gaza — and could make it more difficult for the White House to eventually restore funding.
Johnson adds the bill “moves the Department of Homeland Security’s operations toward enforcing our border and immigration laws. It significantly cuts funding to NGOs that incentivize illegal immigration and increases detention capacity and the number of border patrol agents to match levels” in the Secure the Border Act, known as H.R.2.
The bill takes back $6 billion in unused COVID-era funds, Johnson added.
“House Republicans have achieved significant conservative policy wins, rejected extreme Democrat proposals, and imposed substantial cuts to wasteful agencies and programs while strengthening border security and national defense,” Johnson said.
Democrats are touting several wins on their end, too.
Ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement that the package “helps with the cost of living, sides with hardworking Americans, protects women’s rights, reinforces America’s global leadership, and helps our communities be safe and secure — while ensuring the biggest corporations pay the taxes they owe.”
Democrats’ listed several policy achievements in the package including 12,000 more Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who have assisted the United States, $1 billion increase for childcare and Head Start, $120 million increase in funding for cancer research at National Institutes of Health and $100 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease and dementias research.
The bill also protects women’s reproductive health by preserving the Department of Defense’s travel policy to ensure service members and their families can access reproductive healthcare, Democrats pointed out.
The bill also provides more funding for TSA personnel by more than $1 billion to sustain pay equity, a priority for Democrats.
Top Senate appropriators — Sens. Patty Murray and Susan Collins — said in a statement, “Passing full-year funding bills that meet the current challenges we face at home and abroad is critical, and anything less is an abdication of our responsibilities. Let’s get this done.”
ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
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