Congressional leaders have reached an agreement to finance the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the rest of fiscal year 2024, a person familiar with the situation confirmed to The Hill, completing the six bills due by the shutdown deadline on Friday.
Negotiators are still finalizing the specific terms and legal wording of the DHS deal, the source said, but the DHS legislation will cover a whole year and not a temporary measure, which lawmakers were considering over the weekend.
Punchbowl News was the first to report this development.
The agreement on DHS funding occurs as members rush to prevent a partial government shutdown by the midnight deadline on Friday.
However, Congress might still need to pass a short-term continuing resolution before Friday to keep operations going in Washington as lawmakers complete the funding legislation. House Republicans have insisted that they require at least 72 hours to review any bills before voting on the House floor, and Senate procedure could prolong the consideration process into the weekend.
Six full-year appropriations bills are due on Friday, funding DHS; the Pentagon; Financial Services and General Government; the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Legislative Branch; and State-Foreign Operations.
Congressional leaders had aimed to reveal the text for the bills over the weekend, but disagreements over DHS funding delayed that schedule. Lawmakers reached an agreement on the five other appropriations bills.
Leaders had initially planned to introduce a continuing resolution for DHS, given the bitter partisan divisions over border security and immigration. However, late-stage involvement from the White House in funding discussions disrupted the weekend timeline, according to Republicans.
Democrats had been advocating for increased funding for pay equity for the Transportation Security Administration, as per a source familiar with The Hill at that time, while Republicans sought more funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention and enforcement efforts.
DEVELOPING.
