Federal Spending

By Emily Wishingrad While the effects of the pandemic on private sector office usage have become increasingly clear, the future of the federal footprint is still largely up in the air. The fate of these millions of square feet of offices is an unanswered question worth billions of taxpayer dollars. Federal government agencies are using just 12% of the space in their… Read more »

By Elizabeth Elkind , Julia Johnson Spending hawks in Congress are growing antsy about starting discussions on how to fund the government in fiscal year 2025. Congress only recently completed the appropriations process for fiscal year 2024, roughly six months after it began Sept. 30. And, in that time, disagreements over federal funding prompted conservative lawmakers… Read more »

By Josh Christenson The House narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion federal spending bill on Friday — which the Senate will have to vote through quickly and send to President Biden for his signature before a partial shutdown at midnight. The lower chamber voted 286-134 to approve the 1,012-page bill to fund the State Department, the Pentagon and the Departments of Labor, Health… Read more »

By Katherine Fung More than half of the Republican conference voted against GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson's omnibus funding bill, rebuking the leader's efforts to avoid a shutdown ahead of Friday's deadline. The House voted on the spending package brokered by Johnson on Friday, passing the bill by a vote of 286 to 134. The bill needed 280 votes to pass. But while the… Read more »

By Mary Lou Masters Conservative House Freedom Caucus (HFC) members encouraged Republicans to vote against the second appropriations package on Friday that provides $1.2 trillion in funding for the rest of the fiscal year to avert a government shutdown. The 1,012-page legislation funds the agencies for Homeland Security, Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Labor, U.S.… Read more »

By Jennifer Shutt  The U.S. House approved a broadly bipartisan $1.2 trillion spending package Friday, sending the legislation to the Senate ahead of a midnight deadline. Senators have just hours to clear the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature, otherwise parts of the federal government will begin a funding lapse early Saturday. Meeting that benchmark will require… Read more »

By Elizabeth Elkind GOP hardliners are furious that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appears poised to jettison the House GOP Conference’s rule on giving lawmakers 72 hours to review bill text before having to vote on it. Congressional leaders released their 1,012-page, $1.2 trillion spending package just after 3 a.m. ET on Thursday, less than 48 hours before the government… Read more »

By Mychael Schnell House conservatives are already hammering away at the $1.2 trillion spending package congressional leaders unveiled overnight, airing their grievances as the chamber races to vote on the legislation ahead of Friday’s partial shutdown deadline. In a slew of social media posts and interviews Thursday, hard-liners blasted the six-bill package’s hefty price tag,… Read more »

By Jim Thomas Pushing through last-minute omnibus bills, such as the $1.2 trillion spending package announced Thursday, is a "cram-down" tactic that undermines accountability, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Newsmax. Perry lamented the lack of adherence to constitutional principles in the budgeting process Thursday on "Rob Schmitt Tonight." "We fought hard in January to make sure that… Read more »

By Alexander Bolton President Biden and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are risking political blowback from the left and the right on a six-bill spending package that lawmakers are scrambling to pass before the government shuts down Saturday. Congressional aides were still finalizing the text of the deal Tuesday afternoon, but lawmakers say they expect the bill to become… Read more »