Congress’s December To-Do List

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Nov. 19, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—The 118th Congress is wrapping up, but it isn’t quite vacation time yet. Before the House and Senate depart for their Christmas break, they will have to pass crucial spending legislation to avoid a government shutdown on Dec. 20, when current government funding expires.

What might that look like this year?

Government spending is almost always a contentious process. Twelve appropriations bills must run the gauntlet and pass both chambers of Congress. The House has passed five, but none have made it through the Senate.

Further complicating matters, the House versions are different from those in the Senate, which will require many last-minute compromises.

Congress is supposed to pass these bills by Sept. 30, but often punts by passing a continuing resolution, a temporary funding package to keep the government moving while disputes are resolved. In late September, Congress passed a stopgap package to fund the government until Dec. 20.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said he wants to pass another continuing resolution that puts the funding question off until 2025, giving incoming President Donald Trump and the GOP-held Senate and House control over spending priorities. Congressional leaders have not yet agreed to any spending plan.

Disaster Relief

To address budget shortfalls in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton, President Joe Biden on Nov. 18 asked Congress to approve nearly $100 billion in supplemental disaster relief, $40 billion of which is expected to go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Although the spending package theoretically has broad support in both chambers of Congress, some have balked at the price tag. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) noted that the government has already spent a lot this year on foreign aid, including the war in Ukraine.

“We don’t have the money,” he said. “We’re $2 trillion in the hole. Interest this year is going to be a trillion dollars.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said on social media platform X that any disaster relief would need to include funding for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a recently expired compensation program for residents suffering health problems related to the development of nuclear weapons during World War II.

The Farm Bill

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, better known as the Farm Bill, will take the lion’s share of the spending—and will be hotly debated. The bill, expected to cost $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s food stamp program, and there is controversy over proposed cuts to that project and to climate-related programs.

A House-proposed version of the bill would shave $30 billion from the program over the next 10 years, which has raised concerns over food security for low-income communities. This version of the bill did make it out of committee, with the support of four House Democrats in a 33–21 vote.

Meanwhile, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, has proposed an alternative bill in the Senate, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act.

Military Funding

Military funding is provided through the National Defense Authorization Act. The House passed a $883.7 billion version of this bill on June 14, but it will have trouble getting through the Senate.

The bill contains provisions that would cut “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs in the Department of Defense. It would also block spending on abortion and climate initiatives, and cut funding for gender transition surgeries for employees in the Defense Department.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has already said the bill is a no-go in the Senate.

“The legislation coming out of the House today is loaded with anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice, anti-environment, and other divisive amendments guaranteed not to pass the Senate,” Schumer said in a statement on June 14.

Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Roger F. Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced an alternative bill in the Senate without these provisions. However, that version requires women to sign up for noncombat roles in the selective service—the military draft—which will almost certainly become a sticking point.

With a new GOP-held Congress, a shift in Senate leadership, and the country anticipating vast changes when Trump takes office on Jan. 20, it remains to be seen if members of Congress will be able to find common ground to pass the required bills, or if the nation will face another government shutdown.