Congressional negotiators are inching closer to a massive spending deal needed to avert a government shutdown, with lawmakers potentially having to return to Washington to vote on the measure on Friday, a source confirmed.
While the final spending text has not yet been released (with text expected as soon as Tuesday afternoon), the measure is expected to include $15 billion in additional in COVID-19 relief funding, coming in $22.5 billion less than the White House’s request, and $12 billion in aid to Ukraine, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday.
Lawmakers are looking to avoid having to pass a fourth stop-gap measure to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.
FREEDOM CAUCUS CALLS FOR UKRAINIAN AID TO BE SEPARATED FROM GOVERNMENT FUNDING
Schumer, a New York Democrat, noted that lawmakers in both parties have ramped up their efforts to strike a deal to provide aid for Ukrainian efforts to fight back against the unprompted attacks from Russia. While a number of GOP lawmakers have voiced reluctance to allocate additional federal funding toward pandemic relief with restrictions lightening across the nation, Schumer argued that he feels it’s necessary to prepare for the possibility of a new variant emerging.
“We are very, very close [to reaching an agreement], and hopefully, it will be done in the next few hours. This bill, the spending bill, comes at a consequential moment — war in Europe has focused the energies of Congress into getting something done and getting it done fast, quickly,” he said on the Senate floor.
“But one crucial element of the funding bill is getting less attention, and that is as important as just about anything in this bill, and that is approving a new round of COVID preparedness funding,” Schumer said. “For all the important priorities we must address in this spending bill, I believe the COVID funding will go down as one of the most important elements of the omnibus, and I’ve been pushing really hard to get it done, working across the aisle to convince our Republican colleagues that we need it.”
House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro voiced optimism that the lower chamber could vote on the sweeping bill as soon as Wednesday as Congress faces a March 11 deadline to keep the government funded.
“We’re almost done. We’re going to vote tomorrow,” the Connecticut Democrat told reporters.
With Democrats slated to head on their retreat in Philadelphia on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that, if necessary, the caucus will return Friday to consider the legislation.
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“I’m hopeful that we will get the omnibus, but if we don’t, yes, a CR is an alternative, and yes, we’ll be back this week to make sure that happens,” the Maryland Democrat told reporters Tuesday.
While the bill is expected to pass both chambers, conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus have called on GOP leaders to push for Ukraine funding to be taken up separately, and some voiced opposition to supporting any bill that doesn’t include language to black federal vaccine mandates.
“We request that you ensure that we take these matters up separately and that we have a full and robust debate on the amount of aid required in Ukraine, the legal and strategic benefits and consequences of providing that aid, the policy choices that must accompany that aid, and then the appropriate levels of spending for the remainder of the fiscal year 2022 generally,” members of the group wrote in a letter to GOP leadership on Friday.
Emily Brooks contributed.
