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DC Download 01.22.2024

Last week, Congress passed its third stopgap funding bill in four months to prevent a partial government shutdown. The continuing resolution (CR) extends Fiscal Year (FY) 2023spending levels to early March, when FY2024 will be nearly half over. The CR set two deadlines: March 1 for bills funding Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD; and March 8 for Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, Financial Services-General Government, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, and State-Foreign Operations.

Earlier this month, appropriators announced a spending agreement that would set FY2024 defense spending at $886 billion and nondefense at $773 billion, in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). That law, negotiated between the White House and House Republicans last spring, also suspended the debt limit. The recent spending deal would also claw back funding from the IRS and unspent emergency coronavirus funds.

Now, lawmakers must pass 12 FY2024 spending bills before government funding expires in March or face another CR. Under the FRA, if any part-year CR remains in effect past April 30, new spending caps will kick in, cutting defense spending to $850 billion and nondefense spending to $736 billion.

In this Special Edition DC Download, we break down some of the biggest issues to watch as these spring deadlines approach.

Table of Contents:

The path to FY2024 Appropriations Bills

The topline spending agreement announced earlier this month has been endorsed by President Joe Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. However, some of the most conservative House members have expressed significant reservations. After the framework was announced, the House Freedom Caucus called it a “total failure” and urged all Republicans to oppose the CR and the spending agreement.

But that topline agreement was just one step on the path to getting FY2024 spending bills over the finish line. Appropriators must now craft 12 individual spending bills that adhere to the agreement, decide what happens to ultra-conservative policy riders included in the House-proposed bills, and determine what other measures, if any, might be tacked onto any spending package (more on this below). With a slim Republican majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson will almost certainly have to rely on Democratic votes to pass the 12 appropriations bills—especially if the final bills look more like the Senate’s bipartisan proposals than the House’s GOP-backed ones.

Senate Passes Bill To Avert Government Shutdown Again—One Day Before Deadline (Forbes)
Hardline US Republicans who cried 'wolf' side-lined by spending deal (Reuters)
House, Senate pass short-term bill averting government shutdown until March (The Washington Post)

President Biden's Emergency Suppemental Requests

Last fall, the White House requested a $106 billion emergency security package. The package would provide $61.4 billion to support Ukraine, $14.3 billion to support the Israeli military, and $9.15 billion for humanitarian efforts across the world, including Gaza. Since the request was announced, Senators have been working on a deal to exchange new immigration rules for the foreign aid. Last week, President Biden signaled he was ready to accept “massive changes” to the U.S. immigration system in exchange for the security package. The Senate is expected to release details of an agreement as soon as this week. Public reporting indicates that Trump-era immigration policies are being considered, such as fast-track deportations and new powers to block asylum seekers. The White House also asked Congress for $56 billion for domestic needs, but that request has not been part of these talks.

Biden Must Not Trade Away the Right to Seek Asylum (Human Rights First)
Trump and House Republicans threaten to tank Biden's border request (Axios)
Biden hopeful for bipartisan package in Senate on U.S.-Mexico border next week (Reuters)

Other Upcoming Issues: FAA and FISA

Government funding for the current fiscal year is top of mind for Congress, but it isn’t the only issue lawmakers have to deal with in the coming months. Given these converging timelines, Congress may use a FY2024 funding package to move other must-pass items, two of which are described below.

Before adjourning in December, lawmakers passed the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2023, Part II, (H.R. 6503), which temporarily extended Federal Aviation and Administration (FAA) programs through March 8, 2024. This extension was actually the second one for the FAA last year, after the previous five-year funding law expired on September 30, 2023. Initially, lawmakers extended the FAA's authorization to December 31, 2023, expecting to move a newlong-term bill by the end of last year.

Senate wraps up final votes of 2023, passes FAA reauthorization (The Hill)
U.S. Senate Has Until Early March to Finalize FAA Reauthorization Bill (FLYING Magazine)

Congress will also have to act on Section 702 of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a surveillance law allowing the U.S. government to spy on foreign individuals outside of the country, including collecting phone calls, texts, and emails without a warrant. This authority expires on April 19, 2024. Section 702 was originally set to expire at the end of 2023, but lawmakers passed a four-month extension as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). A transparency report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found that warrantless searches of U.S. residents’ communications by the FBI topped 119,383 in 2022. Accordingly, lawmakers have proposed FISA updates to protect Americans’ privacy. Last November, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH-08) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Government Surveillance Reform Act, which would reauthorize FISA Section 702 with reforms to protect Americans’ privacy rights. Specifically, the bill would require intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant to search and collect Americans’ communications from intelligence databases. The bill has yet to be considered in either chamber.