5 things to know about Congress’s plan to avert a shutdown this week

Congressional leaders are sprinting to pass a sweeping government funding plan unveiled Sunday ahead of a looming shutdown deadline this weekend.

The 1,050-page package includes more than $450 billion in fiscal 2024 funding for a slew of offices including the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs (VA), Justice, Commerce and Energy.

Here’s are five things to know about the funding package.

Democrats tout housing, nutrition

Democrats have touted the sweeping plan as protecting nutrition assistance and housing programs from Republican-backed cuts, while pointing to key investments in both areas.

Proposed funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children includes more than $7 billion, a $1 billion increase above fiscal 2023 levels that Democrats say would “fully fund” the program after it faced a shortfall.

The package also did not appear to include changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program sought by some Republicans that aimed to limit access to items such as soda and candy.

The package includes more than $32 billion for tenant-based Section 8 vouchers, a $2.1 billion increase from the previous fiscal year, as members on both sides say more funding is needed to counter rising rents. The package would also increase funding for the project-based rental assistance program and efforts to “address the capital needs of public housing,” a Democratic summary of the text says.

The bill also increases funding for other housing programs, including what Democrats have billed as a “record $1.344 billion for the Native American Housing Block Grant program.”

While Republicans boast cuts

House Republicans have been lauding cuts to nondefense programs as the party has pressed for lower government funding.

The reductions highlighted by Republicans include cuts to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Republicans, some of whom have accused the FBI of political weaponization, touted a 6 percent cut to the agency. That includes a cut of $654 million to the FBI’s operating budget, or a 6 percent reduction, and a $621.9 million cut to the agency’s construction account, which it said amounted to a 95 percent cut.

The ATF would see a 7 percent cut to funding, or a $122 million cut, that Republicans say is aimed at reversing what they describe as “anti-Second Amendment overreach.”

Republicans say the package would mean a roughly 10 percent cut for the EPA, as appropriators on both sides have warned of tight budget constraints while crafting this year’s appropriations bills under the rules set by a previous debt ceiling deal. However, Democrats also argue current funding still maintains staffing levels across the agency’s programs.

At the same time, some Republicans also point to increases in areas such as funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration, which the party says is aimed at supporting efforts to fight fentanyl, as well as additional funding for the Food Safety and Inspection Service and “to improve the tracking system of foreign land ownership.”

Republicans cheer veterans’ gun rights language

Republicans have also cheered language in the bill that they say would protect veterans’ gun rights, after a similar GOP-backed push briefly slowed progress on funding last year.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the package includes language that would prevent the VA from “sending information on those seeking assistance with their benefits to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) system, without a judge’s consent.”

The inclusion comes months after a similar effort fueled partisan divide in the Senate.

Republicans said at the time that the proposal was key to keeping veterans who need help managing their money from losing their gun rights. However, Democrats have sounded alarms about the impact the measure could have on veterans’ suicide rates, as well as the potential for those deemed “mentally incompetent” to have firearms.

‘Poison pills’ largely excluded

Democrats have claimed victory in the exclusion of so-called poison pill riders pushed by Republicans from the compromise bills.

For weeks, GOP leadership has faced pressure from hard-line conservatives to hold the line on securing partisan riders in thorny areas including abortion and diversity as concessions from Democrats as part of the bipartisan funding talks.

The measures that conservatives pushed for as part of talks include proposals to eliminate salaries for Cabinet secretaries, defund Planned Parenthood and target diversity orders by the Biden administration.

The riders were considered red lines for Democrats, who vehemently opposed them.

The package has already drawn criticism from some hard-liners voicing frustration with “the policy wins that were surrendered” in the bipartisan talks.

The hardest work could still be ahead

The House is expected to move first on the package later this week, as both sides look to avert a partial government shutdown Friday.

But appropriators are already looking to a March 22 deadline to fund the remainder of the government — and say those bills are expected to be even more contentious than the first batch.

They will cover funding for the Pentagon and the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Homeland Security and a list of others.

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