ELawmakers unveil $1.2 trillion government funding package ahead of shutdown deadline

It looks like its $1.2T for the next 6 months, which doesn't seem horrible, but the problem is that this GOP 'package' is 1000 pages long and the lawmakers have 1 day to review it.

Lawmakers unveil $1.2 trillion government funding package ahead of shutdown deadline
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/21/politics/government-funding-bills/index.html
Lawmakers unveiled a $1.2 trillion government funding package on Thursday, setting up a high-stakes sprint to pass the legislation as a shutdown deadline looms at the end of the week.

It’s not yet clear if lawmakers will be able to pass the legislation ahead of Friday’s deadline, raising concerns on Capitol Hill that there could be a short-term lapse in government funding over the weekend.

 

What made the cut in Congress’ $1.2 trillion funding deal?
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4546755-government-funding-deal-details/
Congressional leaders rolled out a sprawling $1.2 trillion legislative package to fund swaths of the government into the fall.

The 1,012-page, six-bill funding package dropped in the wee hours of Thursday, as lawmakers push to get the legislation quickly across the finish line to avert a shutdown this weekend.

Here are just some of the highlights:

Homeland Security
The package includes over $490 million in funding to hire 22,000 Border Patrol agents, which Republicans are touting as the “highest level ever funded.”

UNRWA
Republicans are touting a deal restricting funding to a key United Nations agency that provides relief for Palestinian refugees

PEPFAR
The package includes $6 billion for the president’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), as well as $1.65 billion for the Global Fund.

Election security
Democrats are highlighting $55 million for election security grants, after House Republicans sought to eliminate funding in the area in their initial proposal last year.

Congressional pay
The bill includes no pay raise for members, upholding a years-long freeze on lawmaker’s pay.

TSA
The package includes more than $10.5 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is $1.2 billion above fiscal year 2023 levels.

 

One thing I noticed was that the Congress was able to get this done and sent for Biden's signature. Congress has started to work again. They are doing their jobs. And if you ignored political news you still have the country running without collapse without having to watch political drama.

 

It is just bad government to use tactics designed to force legislators to act. It is corrupt. This is one of the many reasons people think so negatively about congress. Their positive approval rating has been in the teens for quite a while.

 

The thing that is unsettling is that they keep going from preventing shutdown to the next preventing shutdown. That implies instability.