Congress announced the last major funding deal of the year on Tuesday, but it is expected to move quickly for passage ahead of Friday's government shutdown deadline.
invoiceThe more than 1,500-page bill would keep government funding at current levels through March 14, buying time for the next Congress to finish funding work for fiscal year 2025. .
It also includes a number of additional measures, including more than $100 billion in disaster and emergency funding, a health care package, and an extension of the Farm Bill.
Below are just some of the highlights of the package.
disaster support
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have agreed to spend about $100 billion in disaster relief, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle ramp up pressure on leaders to provide relief in the wake of Hurricanes Helen and Milton.
That includes nearly $30 billion in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which officials have warned about in recent months over the agency's disaster relief funds. It also includes $4 million for disaster relief for farmers and oversight for the Office of Inspector General.
There is also approximately $20 billion in disaster assistance for farmers and producers in the USDA budget, approximately $1 billion for emergency watershed protection programs, and more than $800 million for emergency conservation programs. outlinedThis is a breakdown of the disaster relief portion of the package.
More than $10 billion would also be earmarked for the Interior Department, Agriculture and Forestry Service, and Environmental Protection Agency for costs incurred by disasters in 2024 and in recent years.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development will also receive $12 billion in community development block grants for disaster recovery, and negotiators said they will receive $30 billion in community development block grants to the Department of Defense (DOD) for extreme weather remediation for military programs. It says more than $1 billion will be paid.
The Department of Defense will also receive about $2 billion in funding for part of construction in Guam after Typhoon Mawar.
PBM reform, health promotion
Lawmakers agreed to include an extensive health care package in the bill. In the health sector, reforms to the pharmaceutical benefit manager (PBM) industry, expanded flexibility for Medicare telehealth, reauthorization of the Act to Prevent the Pandemic and Address the Opioid Crisis, payments to community health centers and other Includes policies.
Changes to PBMs have been a bipartisan priority for years, but until now we have never been able to see them through. PBMs negotiate discounted drug prices with insurance companies and employers.
The measures include a ban on tying PBM fees to Medicare prices for drugs. Lawmakers and PBM critics argue that rising drug prices will lead to higher fees for PBMs. The higher the price of the drug in question, the greater the potential discount, a portion of which the PBM retains as profit. Therefore, PBMs have an incentive to steer patients toward the most expensive drugs.
Critics have long argued that PBMs essentially operate in the shadows, so the funding bill includes new reporting requirements to increase transparency, including requiring PBMs to including requiring disclosure of costs and reimbursements and associated fees and discounts.
PBM changes are used to pay for some of your other medical expenses.
Extension of agricultural expenses
The package includes an additional year's extension of the 2018 Farm Bill and an additional $10 billion in economic aid to farmers, after Congress failed to pass an extension last year. .
Lawmakers said some support for farmers has become a key sticking point as funding negotiations have gotten into high gear over the past week. Some Republican lawmakers threatened to vote against the interim measure if it did not include economic aid for farmers and ranchers.
Important bridging funds
Democrats also praised a portion of the bill that would cover the cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
“As included in the continuing resolution of the Baltimore Bridge Relief Act, Congress is now committed to covering the full cost of replacing the bridge. This will allow us to build the bridge as soon as possible.” Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a joint statement Tuesday.
“Our provisions also ensure that federal taxpayers are reimbursed through proceeds from insurance claims and lawsuits underwritten by the Department of Justice, the Maryland Attorney General, and others.”
There is also $8 billion in federal highway and road disaster relief funding administered by the Department of Transportation.
Small Business Entrepreneurs Association
Lawmakers said the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program, where businesses and homeowners rely on low-interest loans to recover from disasters, ran out of money during hurricane season. Agreed to provide more than $2 billion in funding to the Small Business Administration.
RFK Stadium
Another stopgap measure includes transferring administrative jurisdiction over the RFK Memorial Stadium campus to the District of Columbia, a move that could lead to Washington's return to the nation's capital.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) guidedLawmakers working on the legislative effort along with Democratic Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C., expressed excitement Tuesday about the ad hoc language being squeezed into action for early action. .
If passed, the bill announced Tuesday would direct the Secretary of the Interior to transfer administrative jurisdiction to school districts, allowing them to use campuses for stadium redevelopment and other purposes.
“We've figured out a way to make this work and be able to bring commanders back to Washington. This is a win-win for Washington,” Comer told The Hill, adding that part of the ongoing effort He added that he and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) “have been in constant communication for many months.”
Contributed by Nathaniel Weichsel.
