Congressional leaders strike deal on government funding as shutdown looms

Washington — Congressional leaders reached a deal Wednesday on a short-term funding extension to head off a partial government shutdown on Saturday. 

The deal extends funding for some government agencies until March 8 and the rest until March 22. 

It sets up potential votes next week for six of the 12 appropriations bills that fund the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Interior, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. Lawmakers would then have two more weeks to pass the remaining six spending bills that include funding for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, Health and Human Services, and Labor. 

“These bills will adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act discretionary spending limits and January’s topline spending agreement,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers said in a statement. 

The new deadlines could still be a difficult task for the House, which has struggled to approve government funding amid Republican divisions. Congress has for months punted the spending fight down the road as House conservatives have pushed for steep cuts and policy changes, and those disagreements haven’t been resolved. 

Congressional leaders met Tuesday with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House about keeping the government fully open beyond Friday, when funding for some agencies is set to expire. The remaining agencies are funded until March 8. Lawmakers left the meeting optimistic about averting a shutdown before the deadline at the end of this week. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s optimism carried into Wednesday. Speaking on the Senate floor, the New York Democrat said negotiators were making “very good progress” on an agreement and were “very close to getting it done.”