Washington — Negotiators in Congress have reached an agreement with the White House on funding for the Department of Homeland Security, congressional leaders announced on Tuesday, finalizing talks on a broader funding package as a shutdown deadline nears.
“An agreement has been reached for DHS appropriations, which will allow completion of the FY24 appropriations process,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement Tuesday morning. “House and Senate committees have begun drafting bill text to be prepared for release and consideration by the full House and Senate as soon as possible.”
The agreement on DHS funding, which came Monday night, according to sources familiar with the discussions, moved Congress one step closer to resolving the government funding dilemma after months of disagreement and shutdown threats.
The DHS funding had appeared to be the main sticking point in a broader spending package, which includes funding for the departments of Defense, Financial Services, Labor, Health and Human Services, for State and Foreign Operations and the legislative branch. But legislative text is not expected before Wednesday, a source familiar with the discussions told CBS News, teeing up a tight timeline to approve the legislation and stave off a partial government shutdown by a Friday night deadline.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday morning that the appropriations committees in Congress “are in the process of finalizing text and reports for Congress to closely review and consider ASAP.”
The package is the second of two, after lawmakers approved funding that covers a smaller portion of the government earlier this month.
Lawmakers agreed to a framework to fund the government last month after months of pushing off funding deadlines with continuing resolutions to keep the government running, setting two deadlines to do so. After passing the first tranche of spending bills with relative ease, this week’s deadline aimed to give lawmakers more time to reach agreement on the larger package, which includes subject matter that’s historically been more controversial.
Reaching an agreement on funding for DHS appeared especially cumbersome for lawmakers this time around, taking on new significance amid an ongoing dispute about how to address border security in Congress.
But even with the agreement, getting the legislation passed through Congress in time for the deadline may be difficult. House lawmakers are expected to get 72 hours to review the package before a House vote later in the week, or Johnson would face intense ire from some members of his conference for breaking the commitment. That would almost guarantee that the deadline would pass before the Senate could approve the measure, with parts of the government set to shutdown on Saturday morning. Accordingly, an additional short-term measure to keep the government funded is possible this week.
Nikole Killion contributed reporting