Five things to know about Speaker Johnson’s spending deal with Democrats

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) faces heat from the party's right wing after striking a deal with Democrats on government funding that conservative hardliners have already dismissed as a “total failure.” are doing.

Lawmakers say the bipartisan agreement will provide a framework for negotiators to work on as they craft more than a dozen annual funding bills, including how much to keep the government running through September. It claims that it will break the deadlock over spending.

But with less than two weeks left until a major shutdown deadline, key questions remain.

Here's what you need to know about spending contracts.

top line

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said the two countries agreed to a fiscal year 2024 spending cap of $1.59 trillion (including $886 billion in defense spending and $704 billion in non-defense discretionary funds). He said he did.

That's roughly in line with the spending limit included in the bipartisan deal President Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struck last year to raise the debt ceiling.

But the non-defense numbers stand in sharp contrast to what Democrats have been touting in recent compromises that they say would allow for more than $60 billion in additional funding for non-defense programs. .

Both sides had called on leaders to set a high-water mark for spending as Congress continues to fall behind in the annual spending process.

Months after the original deadline to fund fiscal year 2024, Congress has so far sent zero of the 12 annual spending bills to Biden's desk for signature. Some negotiators have suggested another stopgap measure, called a continuing resolution (CR), may be needed to prevent a funding shortfall later this month as work is delayed.

Previous “side deal” situation

Questions have swirled in recent months about what happened to the previous handshake deal between the White House and House Republican leaders as part of a deal to expand the debt limit, amid opposition from conservative hardliners.

Democrats need to ensure that, despite the law's budget cap, what experts say amounts to an effective non-defense funding freeze when compared to last year's levels. They argue that the collateral agreement was the key.

As part of the handshake agreement, the two sides agreed to a series of budget changes, including canceling funding for the IRS and pandemic relief, to offset further funding for non-defense forces. But Johnson faced pressure from the right to scrap the deal hammered out under McCarthy, as conservatives pursue deep spending cuts beyond the debt limit deal.

Democrats on Sunday set aside $772.7 billion in non-defense discretionary funding as part of the new deal, while also “protecting key domestic priorities like veterans benefits, health care and nutrition assistance from harsh cuts sought by right-wing extremists.” We will protect it,'' he announced. ”

Meanwhile, House Republican leaders touted the “hard-earned concessions” Democrats had won as part of the deal, including accelerating the cancellation of IRS funds that Congress had already agreed to and restoring about $6 billion in coronavirus funds.

“Overall, this agreement represents a substantial year-over-year reduction in non-veteran, non-defense spending,” Johnson said in Sunday's letter.

But Democrats are singing a different tune.

“Not a nickel was cut. Again, our goal is to [$772 billion] And that's exactly the number we arrived at with this bipartisan agreement,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, R-New York, said Monday.

Conservatives intensify their opposition

The newly announced compromise package has come under increasing criticism from hard-line conservatives who call the additional funding for non-defense spending “reckless.”

“Don't be fooled. The DC United Party's spending 'agreement' is a complete sham. REAL's top-line spending level is $1.658 trillion, not $1.59 trillion. Our country simply cannot afford to tolerate Swamp's reckless spending habits,” said Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Caucus Freedom Caucus. He said this. tweeted on monday.

The backlash comes as the group has pressured the conference to step up efforts to cut spending, often citing the nation's rising debt, which now stands at about $34 trillion. It is something that

But not all Republicans approve of the plan.

“While I continue to believe that additional defense funding is needed, this agreement will help avoid a year-long continuing resolution, implementation of FRA CR penalties, or a government shutdown that would be disastrous for our national defense. We are working on homeland security, biomedical research, and many other programs,” Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.

'Poison pills' can threaten progress

There are also questions about where the so-called poison pill policy special clause should be placed in spending negotiations.

While Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged on Sunday that the agreed spending limits “won't please everyone”, the deal will encourage MPs to move forward with the spending process and ensure “important policy riders are included in the party's funding bill”. He claimed to offer a way to “fight for it.” These riders include policies regarding abortion and diversity efforts.

And some in his party are already monitoring the issue.

“The spending top line of $1,659 is terrible and wastes the leverage achieved in the (already not very large) cap agreement. We will wait to see if we get any meaningful policy rider…but 1) the NDAA It wasn't a good preview, and 2) as usual, we continue to spend more money we don't have,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the House Freedom Caucus. I wrote to X on Sunday.

But these policies are not a starting point for Democrats, who renewed their opposition this week.

Schumer and House Minority Leader Mike Johnson announced Sunday that Democrats do not support including changes to poison pill policies in any of the 12 spending bills introduced in Congress. “I have clearly stated that,” he said.

lack of time

The first shutdown deadline, Jan. 19, is less than two weeks away, when funding for agencies such as the Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture is scheduled to expire.

The deadline for remaining government agencies is February 2nd.

And even once the top-line numbers are set, much work remains. Lawmakers will decide on a process to pass the 12 spending bills, which they must write and pass through an often unyielding Congress.

Some appropriations committee members said they had begun informal bicameral spending talks ahead of the Christmas break, but they also faced limitations in considering the bill without knowing each subcommittee's assignments. Admitted.

In addition, some Republican lawmakers have proposed a one-year CR, which means that if new emergency measures are needed to keep certain institutions open next week, the length of any potential emergency measures will be extended. There are also concerns about the size of the United States, with experts warning that this could mean further spending cuts to non-defense programs.