Lawmakers announced Wednesday that they have agreed to a deal to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday.
The stopgap bill gives Congress time after returning from a two-week recess to fund a permanent deal.
Driving the news: House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement that they reached a deal on six bills to fund federal agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior, Justice, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
- The six funding bills will be voted on prior to March 8, Congressional leaders said.
- They plan to vote on the remaining six funding bills – Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS, Legislative Branch and State and Foreign Operations – by March 22.
- The House will pass short term funding bills to take the government through the March 8 and March 22 deadlines.
- Negotiators met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday to discuss funding bills as well as foreign aid to Ukraine and other nations.
What they’re saying: “We are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government,” Johnson and Schumer said.
