House Vote On FY24 Package Expected As Soon As Wednesday

Congressional leaders yesterday unveiled aUSD$435 billion package of Fiscal Year 2024 spending bills: Agriculture, Energy, MilitaryCon-VA, Commerce, Interior, and Transportation.

• A House vote is expected on Wednesday with the Senate to follow. The package is expected to pass ahead of Friday’s deadline.
• The House vote will be taken under suspension of rules and require a two-thirds bipartisan majority to pass. As the vote with be backed by the majority of Dems, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will target a yes vote from majority of his conference to offset the risk of a rebellion from his conservative flank.
• Despite months of negotiations, the package effectively freezes spending with a few minor wins for both sides. Johnson said in a statement: “House Republicans secured key conservative policy victories, rejected left-wing proposals, and imposed sharp cuts to agencies and programs critical to President Biden’s agenda.”
• Appropriator Senator Patty Murry (D-WA) said on the Commerce bill: "This bill will strengthen our supply chains, and it will help us maintain our global leadership in science and innovation...”
• Looking forward to the more challenging second tranche of bills - worth around 70 percent of discretionary spending - due on March 22: The Labor-HHS-Education and State-Foreign Operations is currently subject to major disagreements on 'culture war' policy riders and the Homeland Security bill will see a continuation of recent entrenched positions on immigration and border security. Without signs that the disputes can be resolved, the risk of a government shutdown will increase again in the coming weeks.