Late Tuesday, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D., Vt.) and House
Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) released statements saying that they had reached a bipartisan framework with Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.) that should allow for enactment of an omnibus spending bill that would boost funding for both the military and domestic priorities.
“We have a framework that provides a path forward to enact an omnibus next week,” said Ms. DeLauro. She added that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees would work around the clock to negotiate the details of the 2023 spending package, which includes 12 separate bills.
Mr. Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said a framework
was in place and that lawmakers should be about to finish the omnibus by the end of next
week “if all goes well.”
Lawmakers didn’t announce any details about the overall spending levels, a topic that has
eluded negotiators for weeks. Republicans and Democrats have generally agreed to $858
billion in military spending—up from $782 billion appropriated for fiscal 2022—but have been at an impasse over nondefense spending. Democrats are seeking about $26 billion more in nondefense spending than Republicans want. Earlier in the day, party leaders had indicated that talks were on track toward a deal.
“We’re very close to getting an omnibus appropriations bill that would be I think broadly
appealing,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) told reporters. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said, “We need a bit more time beyond this week to get an omnibus done to avoid a needless shutdown.”
Mr. Schumer also said that he expected the omnibus to include funding for Ukraine as well as a measure to update how Congress deals with disputes over certifying presidential-election results.
Congress has been eager to update the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which requires Congress to convene for a joint session after a presidential election, on Jan. 6, to count and ratify the
electoral votes certified by the 50 states and District of Columbia. The vice president, serving as president of the Senate, has the duty to count the votes. After the last election, then President Donald Trump pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, to reject some electors unilaterally, which Mr. Pence refused to do.
The House is set to vote Wednesday on a one-week continuing resolution to avoid a partial
government shutdown with the expiration of an interim law that runs through Dec. 16. The
Senate plans to take up the measure shortly afterward. So far, no Republicans have indicated
that they plan to object to moving quickly to a vote on the one-week measure, which would
extend funding through Friday, Dec. 23, and give Congress more time to pass a long-term
package.
Mr. McConnell said that any deal needed to finish no later than the late evening on Dec. 22,
saying lawmakers wanted to get on the road for the Christmas break and signaled they
wouldn’t pass another weeklong extension and would instead throw the matter to the next
Congress, which starts on Jan. 3.
If Congress can’t meet the Dec. 22 deadline, “we’d be happy to pass a short-term CR into early next year,” Mr. McConnell said, referring to a continuing resolution that extends funding at current levels. Such a move would shift the talks into the next Congress.
As a result, Republicans say, they don’t need to abide by a principle of parity in increases for defense and nondefense spending. Lawmakers have agreed to fund military programs at $858 billion—the level set by a defense policy bill up for a Senate vote this week—up from $778 billion a year earlier.
Because Congress has enacted so many laws in recent years to expand veterans’ healthcare, Democrats say, veterans’ spending has increased, threatening to crowd out other domestic priorities unless the caps on nondomestic spending are liberalized.
Republicans say that Democrats already stuffed money into their domestic priorities through
the passage of major domestic spending legislation during President Biden’s term, including a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted in early 2021 and the climate, healthcare and tax law that cost hundreds of billions more. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he thinks lawmakers are very close to getting an omnibus appropriations bill.
Republicans will control the House next year, and conservatives have urged their leaders to
push spending negotiations into 2023 to make use of their new powers. Democrats and some Republicans have worked to get a deal done this year, in part because of uncertainty about whether the House chamber next year would be able to reach a deal with the Senate to avoid a government shutdown.
The pressure on controlling spending is strongest on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), who will need conservatives to win his bid for the House speaker position next year.
“We’ve got a spending problem here,” Mr. McCarthy said on Tuesday.
Mr. McConnell’s right flank has called for a special Senate GOP conference on Wednesday
morning, when they are expected to push their spending priorities.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at Siobhan.hughes@wsj.com