An interim law currently funds the government through Feb. 18.
Photo: Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON—House leaders scheduled a Tuesday vote to extend a temporary government funding measure through March 11, buying time for negotiators to work out a comprehensive fiscal 2022 package after a prolonged deadlock over how much to allocate for military and nondefense spending.
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) said that negotiators are “close to reaching a framework government funding agreement, but we will need additional time to complete the legislation in full.”
An interim law currently funds the government through Feb. 18. Absent congressional action, many parts of the government would shut down starting at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 19. The Senate hasn’t set a time to vote on companion legislation after the measure clears the House.
House and Senate appropriators have been haggling over spending for weeks, but have been unable to bridge key differences, particularly over overall spending levels. With the expiration of the 2011 Budget Control Act, the two parties have less incentive to abide by the principle of parity in military and nonmilitary spending increases. The 2011 law was designed to force compromise by triggering automatic spending cuts in the absence of an agreement on defense and nondefense funding.
The executive branch, which administers the government, typically chafes at prolonged continuing resolutions, which pinch budgets, especially when inflation flares up, and deprive agencies and departments of flexibility in where to allocate their money. Agencies can’t hire for certain positions or start new programs without the approval of Congress, which controls government budgets.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
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