Congress Reaches Spending Deal, But Southern Border Security Remains Unaddressed
In a move that aims to prevent a government shutdown, Congress has reached a deal on how much the U.S. government will spend in the upcoming year.
However, conservatives are raising concerns about the agreement's failure to address the pressing issue of securing the southern border. This development has ignited a fierce debate among lawmakers as the first of the two funding deadlines approaches on January 19.
The bipartisan agreement on a "topline" spending level has broken a logjam that had previously stalled the process. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, expressed their satisfaction with the deal, stating that it allows Congress to maintain crucial funding priorities for the American people and avoid a government shutdown.
Under the agreement, the overall spending level for fiscal year 2024 would amount to $1.59 trillion, in accordance with the bipartisan budget deal struck last year by President Joe Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The breakdown of this spending includes $886 billion for the military and $704 billion for nondefense spending. However, Senator Ron Johnson of Louisiana says there will be "key modifications" to reduce nonmilitary spending by $16 billion. This reduction will be achieved through the utilization of $6.1 billion in unused Covid funds and $10 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act, specifically from the IRS budget.
While Senator Johnson acknowledges that the final spending levels may not satisfy everyone and do not cut spending as much as desired, he asserts that the deal provides a path forward to prioritize funding towards conservative objectives.
In a letter to his colleagues, Johnson emphasized the importance of reprioritizing funding within the agreed-upon topline in order to advance conservative policies and counter the previous Schumer-Pelosi omnibus bill.
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President Biden praised the bipartisan framework, highlighting its alignment with the funding levels negotiated and signed into law last spring. However, he urged congressional Republicans to fulfill their responsibility to fund critical domestic and national security priorities, including his supplemental request.
Biden's statement comes as conservative hard-liners, such as Rep. Bob Good of Virginia and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, have threatened a shutdown unless Congress takes action to strengthen immigration and asylum laws before the funding deadline.
The lack of attention to addressing border security in the spending deal has raised concerns among conservative lawmakers, who argue that toughening immigration and asylum laws is crucial to safeguarding national security.