Congressional Leaders Unveil FY 2024 Minibus Spending Package
March 21, 2024
Early this morning, House and Senate leaders unveiled a $1.2 trillion spending package that combines six (of 12) fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, including those covering Defense, Homeland Security, Labor-Health and Human Services-Education, State-Foreign Operations, Financial Services, and the Legislative Branch. The rest of the federal budget has already been approved by Congress and was recently signed into law.
While there are detractors in both parties, Democrats and Republicans are both claiming wins in the final package. Republicans are generally pleased with funding cuts to certain foreign operations and diversity initiatives. They also fought to increase the number of ICE detention beds and border patrol agents. However, similar to the first minibus package, a bloc of House conservatives expressed concerns with overall spending levels and the lack of any concrete policy concessions. Meanwhile, Democrats are highlighting increases for child care and domestic programs. They also successfully turned away a number of controversial policy riders.
Looking ahead, and with government funding set to expire at midnight on March 22, there is little room for error. For his part, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is likely to waive a House GOP Conference rule that gives lawmakers 72 hours to review bill text before a vote. This would allow the House to advance the measure ahead of Friday’s deadline. To avoid a shutdown, the Senate will also need to act expeditiously, though procedural hurdles could draw out the consideration process into the weekend. As long as Congress clears the package before Monday, the effects of a partial government shutdown would be minimal.
The spending package does not include any supplemental funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The program, which was established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), provides eligible households with a monthly discount on broadband service of up to $30 per month (up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands or high-cost locations). Due to high demand, April will be the final month that the program will be available, unless Congress approves additional funding.
Given the impending deadline and limited legislative options that could carry an ACP bill, the minibus was seen as the best opportunity to extend the program. In fact, 33 senators – including Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Laphonza Butler (D-CA) – recently called on congressional leaders to provide the necessary funding ($7 billion) to extend the program for the remainder of the fiscal year. A similar House letter was signed by 159 lawmakers, including 32 members of the California congressional delegation.
Finally, the spending package also does not include the long-stalled supplemental security package to assist Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and others. However, Speaker Johnson has indicated that he intends to put a military spending bill on the floor once the House completes action on the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process. As of this writing, the strategy and timeline for advancing the measure remains uncertain.