Congressional leaders have reached a top-line spending deal to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2024, the first step to avoid a partial government shutdown in less than two weeks.
The deal is modeled largely on caps and side spending agreements struck in a debt limit deal last year, which included a side agreement for further budget changes that would allow a plus-up for nondefense dollars for most of 2024.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans negotiated billions in spending cuts to offset that.
Hardline conservatives have been dialing up the pressure on GOP leadership to abandon what Democrats say was the full agreement in pursuit of steeper spending cuts, with the House Freedom Caucus recently accusing leaders entertaining a deal that would "Obscure the actual spending numbers with more shady side deals and accounting tricks."
"As has been widely reported, a list of extra-statutory adjustments was agreed upon by negotiators last summer. The agreement today achieves key modifications to the June framework that will secure more than $16 billion in additional spending cuts to offset the discretionary spending levels," Johnson said.
The Speaker touted that the spending deal "Results in an overall $30 billion total reduction from the Senate's spending plans."
"While these final spending levels will not satisfy everyone, and they do not cut as much spending as many of us would like, this deal does provide us a path to: 1) move the process forward; 2) reprioritize funding within the topline towards conservative objectives, instead of last year's Schumer-Pelosi omnibus; and 3) fight for the important policy riders included in our House FY24 bills," Johnson said.
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