WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders unveiled a comprehensive year-end package Tuesday that would provide more than $100 billion in disaster relief and give lawmakers more time to complete outstanding work on government funding, the Farm Bill and several other issues they have decided not to complete.
The disaster relief portion of the package will boost funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Administration and several other federal agencies so they can continue their ongoing operations in response to a number of natural disasters that have occurred over the past two years.
The Package of 1547 pages would give Congress until mid-March to complete work on a dozen annual government funding bills that were to go into effect on October 1.
It also extends the Farm Bill through September 30, 2025. In a sign of victory for corn growers, the bill includes a provision allowing nationwide sales of blended gasoline containing up to 15% ethanol year-round.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said during a news conference before the bill’s release that he hoped the end-of-year stopgap spending bill would simply extend current funding until next year, when the GOP would hold the House, Senate and White House House.
“But a few indirect things happened. We had what we describe as the works of God. In the late fall, if you know, we had these massive hurricanes – Helene and Milton and other disasters,” Johnson said. “We must make sure Americans devastated by hurricanes get the help they need. That’s why we’re adding a disaster relief package to that, and that’s extremely important.”
“Also important is the destruction our farming community is facing,” he said. “The agricultural sector is really struggling. In fact, they’ve had three wasted years and commodity prices are in quite a mess. You also have input costs, which have skyrocketed with Bidenomics.”
Johnson defended his decision to attach the remaining provisions to the stopgap spending bill, also known as the continuing resolution. Many Republicans expressed frustration with his decision to combine all the bills into one package rather than moving them one at a time.
“We need to be able to help those who are in this tragic situation and that is what this case is about,” Johnson said.
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, said in a written statement that she would support the bill when the House votes on it later this week.
“While I – like many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle – wish we had voted on the full-year funding bills, I am glad this package includes important resources for American farmers, emergency defense investments, Virginia-class investments in the submarine program and increased funding for child care,” DeLauro wrote. “It also includes outbound investment protections, which I have long fought for, to prevent U.S. dollars from fueling Chinese Communist Party policies with our capital and capabilities.”
“However, I am concerned that we could not agree to additional funding for veterans’ health care, and we must remain vigilant to ensure that the new administration does not ration the care promised to every affected veteran,” DeLauro added. “Passage of this bill should mark the beginning of negotiations on final funding bills for 2025. The start of a new Congress does not change the reality that any funding bills will continue to require support from Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate to become law.”
Hurricanes, tornadoes, bridge collapses
President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve nearly $100 billion emergency aid to strengthen the financial reporting of several agencies that support residents, petite businesses, farmers, and local and state governments recover from dozens of natural disasters.
The additional request for assistance was made shortly after Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused widespread damage in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Funds will also support communities recover from tornadoes in the Midwest; the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland; and severe storms in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The disaster response section of the spending package would include:
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$29 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief fund
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$21 billion in disaster relief for farmers and ranchers
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$12 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Disaster Relief Block Grant Program
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$10 billion in economic aid for farmers and ranchers
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$8 billion for the Department of Transportation for federal highway disaster relief
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$3.25 billion in state and tribal grants for water infrastructure repairs.
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$2.2 billion for the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Loan Program
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$1.3 billion to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland
The Congress was heading to the finish line
The package is expected to pass the House and Senate before members leave for summer break on Friday. Biden is expected to sign the bill.
When Congress reconvenes on January 3 to begin the 119th Congress, the Senate will transition from Democratic to Republican control. The House will remain red, though with a slightly smaller majority and very little, or likely no, room for GOP lawmakers to vote against partisan bills.
Republicans hope to employ unified control of Washington, which begins after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, to make sweeping changes to federal spending and policy.
That’s one reason Congress included a second eternal resolution in the package released this week. This short-lived spending bill will avoid a partial government shutdown until at least March 14.
This part of the bill is necessary because Congress has neglected its responsibility to fund the government by not completing more than a dozen annual appropriations bills before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.
Legislators approved another law on short-lived spending at the end of September keep funding levels mostly unchanged through December 20, but did not employ the extra time to negotiate a compromise between the Republican House and Democratic Senate.
GOP leaders have decided to hold off on full-year government funding measures until they take control of both chambers of Congress next year, hoping they will be able to better tailor the final versions of the 12 bills to their goals.
But GOP leaders will still need Democratic support to advance final budget bills or another stopgap spending bill to the Senate next year if they want to avoid a partial government shutdown.
The Senate requires at least 60 lawmakers to participate in the vote to advance major legislation toward a final vote with a straightforward majority. Next year, the GOP will have 53 seats, which is less than the required number. Several Republican senators have also sacrificed their reputations by consistently voting against any spending bills, making Democratic votes indispensable to avoid a shutdown.
House Republicans will also likely need Democrats to move government funding bills through the chamber, given that they, too, have a significant faction of members who refuse to vote for year-round spending bills and often vote against short-term bills as well. breaks .
Extension of the farm bill
The year-end catchall bill published Tuesday also includes another extension of the farm bill for next year, a modern version of which Congress was supposed to pass more than a year ago.
Instead, lawmakers in both chambers prioritized other interests, delaying work on the act authorizing agricultural and nutrition programs.
Congress last approved the farm bill in December 2018, which the then-nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated would cost $428 billion over the five years it was supposed to cover.
According to one study, funds for nutrition, crop insurance, agricultural programs, and environmental protection accounted for approximately 99% of mandatory spending under the law. report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
Over the past few decades, nutrition has become one of the higher-ranking items on the Farm Bill, accounting for approximately $326 billion in mandatory spending under the 2018 Farm Bill. Another $38 billion was earmarked for crop insurance, $31 billion for commodities and $29 billion for environmental protection in the five-year window that has passed.
Nutrition funds go to several federal food programs for lower-income people, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
The Republican House and Democratic Senate were unable to work through their differences on a modern five-year farm bill, even though they secured more than a year of additional time.
Lawmakers who are expected to approve the bill this month will give the united Republicans who control Washington another year to get the job done.
DC Deputy Bureau Chief Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.
Last updated at 19:38, December 17, 2024
