The Latest on FY 2024 Government Funding
January 29, 2024House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders made important progress toward a March 2024 government funding deal late last week, but much work remains ahead. Notably, Chairs Kay Granger (R-TX) and Patty Murray (D-WA) struck an agreement on funding allocations — otherwise known as 302(b)s — for all 12 spending bills in fiscal year (FY) 2024. The allocations, which have yet to be posted publicly as of this writing, will allow appropriators to write, finalize, and pass funding bills during the February work period. Depending on the overall level of bipartisan cooperation during this process, a March 2024 funding deal could be used to carry other pending legislative efforts around health care, tax, and more. The funding deadline for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Energy-Water, and Transportation-HUD will run through March 1, with everything else — including Labor-HHS-Education — funded through March 8.
- Meanwhile… A bipartisan group of senators, including Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), are hoping to produce legislative text for a supplemental appropriations package that includes foreign aid and border security, but it remains to be seen whether this forthcoming agreement can earn the 60 votes needed for passage. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has also characterized the contours of the deal as “dead-on-arrival” in the Republican-controlled House.