Congress Launches Bipartisan Funding Talks to Avert March Shutdown Deadline
Top Republican appropriators launched the back-and-forth of government funding proposals with an initial barrage.
TroibNews 
Republican funding leaders have made an initial proposal to Democrats as both parties begin negotiations to reach an agreement for funding the government ahead of the mid-March shutdown deadline.
Top appropriators from Congress convened privately on Thursday evening in the Capitol for an hour-long “four corners” meeting. This marked the first significant step towards a bipartisan funding agreement, as Republican leaders start to endorse the notion of a cross-party deal that would fund the government and raise the debt limit, while possibly increasing disaster aid and border security funding. These negotiations come after several months of stalemate over a bipartisan government funding plan, during which lawmakers initially postponed discussions beyond the October start of the fiscal year and then resorted to a stopgap measure in December, pushing the spending deadline into the early months of the new Trump administration.
After the meeting, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who leads the House Democrats' appropriators, expressed optimism that the four lawmakers aim to finalize a “topline” agreement by the end of the month — which is just over a week away — to establish overall funding totals for military and non-defense programs, as well as to outline rules regarding policy add-ons. This expedited schedule is necessary as government funding is set to expire on March 14, and it typically takes at least a month for lawmakers to finalize negotiations on the dozen appropriations bills following an overarching agreement.
“Everybody wants to get the job done,” DeLauro remarked in an interview following the meeting, describing the bipartisan discussions as “honestly, very positive.”
Even if the negotiators reach consensus on overall funding totals and secure approval from their party leaders, significant additional issues remain. These include discussions on whether to raise the debt limit as part of the final funding package. With the U.S. government facing the risk of defaulting on its over $36 trillion debt this year, Republican leaders are considering a potential agreement with Democrats to waive or increase the borrowing cap.
“That’s not our decision,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole stated on Thursday regarding the inclusion of a debt limit increase in the final funding package. “Not my decision to make.”
The ultimate decision on this matter will rest with House and Senate GOP leaders and President Donald Trump.
As he entered the meeting, Cole expressed his admiration for DeLauro and his two other negotiating counterparts, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and Senate Democratic appropriator Patty Murray from Washington.
“So it’s a good personal chemistry, good people to work with,” Cole noted.
Murray, exiting the meeting, was succinct yet positive, stating, “All I’m going to say is, it was a good discussion, and we’re working on it.”
Earlier on Thursday, Collins had informed reporters that she hopes to announce some funding totals by Monday.
This meeting followed a separate discussion between Cole and Collins on Wednesday night, where the two Republican spending chairs met to discuss potential funding levels before bringing Democrats into the conversation at Thursday’s meeting.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
Top appropriators from Congress convened privately on Thursday evening in the Capitol for an hour-long “four corners” meeting. This marked the first significant step towards a bipartisan funding agreement, as Republican leaders start to endorse the notion of a cross-party deal that would fund the government and raise the debt limit, while possibly increasing disaster aid and border security funding. These negotiations come after several months of stalemate over a bipartisan government funding plan, during which lawmakers initially postponed discussions beyond the October start of the fiscal year and then resorted to a stopgap measure in December, pushing the spending deadline into the early months of the new Trump administration.
After the meeting, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who leads the House Democrats' appropriators, expressed optimism that the four lawmakers aim to finalize a “topline” agreement by the end of the month — which is just over a week away — to establish overall funding totals for military and non-defense programs, as well as to outline rules regarding policy add-ons. This expedited schedule is necessary as government funding is set to expire on March 14, and it typically takes at least a month for lawmakers to finalize negotiations on the dozen appropriations bills following an overarching agreement.
“Everybody wants to get the job done,” DeLauro remarked in an interview following the meeting, describing the bipartisan discussions as “honestly, very positive.”
Even if the negotiators reach consensus on overall funding totals and secure approval from their party leaders, significant additional issues remain. These include discussions on whether to raise the debt limit as part of the final funding package. With the U.S. government facing the risk of defaulting on its over $36 trillion debt this year, Republican leaders are considering a potential agreement with Democrats to waive or increase the borrowing cap.
“That’s not our decision,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole stated on Thursday regarding the inclusion of a debt limit increase in the final funding package. “Not my decision to make.”
The ultimate decision on this matter will rest with House and Senate GOP leaders and President Donald Trump.
As he entered the meeting, Cole expressed his admiration for DeLauro and his two other negotiating counterparts, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and Senate Democratic appropriator Patty Murray from Washington.
“So it’s a good personal chemistry, good people to work with,” Cole noted.
Murray, exiting the meeting, was succinct yet positive, stating, “All I’m going to say is, it was a good discussion, and we’re working on it.”
Earlier on Thursday, Collins had informed reporters that she hopes to announce some funding totals by Monday.
This meeting followed a separate discussion between Cole and Collins on Wednesday night, where the two Republican spending chairs met to discuss potential funding levels before bringing Democrats into the conversation at Thursday’s meeting.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
