January 11, 2024

Earlier this week, congressional leaders in both chambers reached agreement on overall budget levels for fiscal year 2024. The long-awaited compromise, which was negotiated by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), sets the stage for a broader government funding compromise in the coming weeks. Specifically, the Johnson-Schumer deal would set topline spending at approximately $1.66 trillion, with $886 billion allocated for defense programs and $703.7 billion set aside for non-defense spending. It also incorporates $69 billion as part of a so-called “side deal,” bringing total domestic discretionary spending to nearly $773 billion. Pursuant to the agreement, which tracks closely with the debt limit deal that was negotiated by President Joe Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (D-CA), non-defense programs would remain relatively flat (less than one percent decrease) in fiscal year 2024, while military and veterans’ programs would increase by about three percent.

In an effort to appease fiscal conservatives, both sides agreed to rescind $6.1 billion in unspent pandemic aid, as well as $20.2 billion for IRS enforcement. It should be noted that the IRS funding clawback was included in the debt limit deal, though it was set to be divided over the next two fiscal years. The latest agreement would frontload all of the cuts in fiscal year 2024. In addition, congressional leaders agreed to reduce other spending levels that were initially included in the side deal, including federal funds that are used to offset changes to mandatory programs.

For their part, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus view the deal as unacceptable and showed their displeasure by blocking debate of several unrelated bills on the House floor, effectively grinding the chamber to a halt. Further complicating matters, the group is actively urging Speaker Johnson to renegotiate the agreement before bringing the bills to the floor. Meanwhile, a number of other conservative lawmakers have threatened to block any spending measure that does not address the flow of migrants at the border.

Looking ahead, and with a budget framework tentatively in place, House and Senate appropriators will begin to hash out spending levels for the various federal departments, as well as individual programs. It should be noted that every federal department has been operating under a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) since the fiscal year began on October 1. Four (of the 12) bills that make up the federal budget are set to expire on January 19, and the remaining eight measures have a deadline of February 2.

With only eight days remaining before a partial government shutdown, some senior lawmakers are calling on Congress to pass another stopgap funding bill. While Majority Leader Schumer plans to start work on a short-term spending patch, it’s unclear if Speaker Johnson – who has vowed no more CR’s – would be willing to put such a proposal before the House.

Water Resources Development Act Reauthorization

This week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee held a hearing entitled “Proposals for a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024.” The event was the third in a series of subcommittee hearings in preparation for renewing the biennial WRDA legislation, which authorizes key projects, programs, and policies under the purview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Looking ahead, both the House T&I Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are expected to continue the process of drafting their respective WRDA 2024 proposals. While it remains to be seen how much bicameral, bipartisan cooperation there will be on Capitol Hill heading into election season, WRDA bills are typically among the most bipartisan pieces of legislation considered in Congress.