Congress reaches a deal on how much to spend for 2024 as shutdown deadline nears

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a deal Sunday on how much the U.S. government will spend in the new year, a significant step toward avoiding a shutdown.

But while the agreement on a “topline” spending level breaks a logjam that had stalled the process, it doesn’t necessarily extinguish the shutdown threat as the first of two deadlines nears on Jan. 19, when some parts of the government will run out of money.

“The bipartisan topline appropriations agreement clears the way for Congress to act over the next few weeks in order to maintain important funding priorities for the American people and avoid a government shutdown,” Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, said in a statement.

The deal would establish an overall spending level of $1.59 trillion in fiscal year 2024, reflecting the bipartisan budget deal struck last year by President Joe Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Johnson, R-La., told colleagues in a letter. The breakdown is $886 billion for the military and $704 billion for nondefense spending, Johnson said.

Johnson added that there will be “key modifications” to the agreement in order to reduce nonmilitary spending with a $16 billion “offset.” That includes $6.1 billion in unused Covid funds and $10 billion in IRS money under the Inflation Reduction Act, Johnson said.

“While these final spending levels will not satisfy everyone, and they do not cut as much spending as many of us would like, this deal does provide us a path to: 1) move the process forward; 2) reprioritize funding within the topline towards conservative objectives, instead of last year’s Schumer-Pelosi omnibus; and 3) fight for the important policy