Senior congressional leaders have reached an agreement on the federal spending level, totaling $1.6 trillion, to avoid a partial government shutdown later this month.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, stated in a letter to legislators on Sunday: “The total amount includes $886 billion for defense spending and $704 billion for non-defense spending.”
U.S. President Joe Biden had already signed the defense spending part into law last month through the defense spending bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement that the estimated funding in the non-defense area “will protect key domestic priorities such as veterans’ benefits, healthcare, and food aid” from the cuts sought by some Republicans.
The statement noted that non-defense spending amounts to $772.7 billion, which is about $69 billion more than what Johnson mentioned.
Congress was scheduled to discuss with the government this week the deadlines set for January 19 and February 2, to settle the issue of government spending until September, amid Republican demands to reduce the estimated spending for the fiscal year 2024 below the agreed-upon cap in June.
Biden had agreed last spring with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on estimated spending of $1.59 trillion in both defense and non-defense areas.
Biden said today, Sunday, that the agreement brings the country closer to “avoiding an unnecessary government shutdown and protecting important national priorities.”
He added in a statement after the announcement of the agreement, “It reflects the funding levels I negotiated with both parties.”
The Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate still have to agree on how to allocate these funds.
Johnson noted in his letter that “the final spending levels will not please everyone and will not reduce spending as much as many of us would like.”
