This article is posted with permission from NGFA’s September 15, 2023,Volume 75 Issue 33 newsletter.
As the September 30 deadline to fund the government approaches, senators voted September 14 to open debate on its first package of spending bills for fiscal year 2024. The minibus of three fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills includes Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, the military constructions and Veterans Affairs, and the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development bill.
The House has passed only one of 12 appropriations bills ahead of the deadline and none have been conferenced between the Senate and House. Meanwhile, the White House has requested Congress pass a separate, stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a statement Wednesday that the Biden administration “strongly supports” passage of the minibus of FY 2024 appropriations bills under consideration on the Senate floor, including the Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration appropriations bill.
The Senate’s bipartisan appropriations bills maintain the spending levels negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden. However, members of the House Freedom Caucus delayed consideration of the Department of Defense appropriations bill and have said they would not support any stopgap funding measure without policy conditions regarding the U.S.-Mexico border and the Pentagon.