- Mike Wendling & Max Mazza
- bbc news
Leading U.S. lawmakers have reached a tentative deal to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of Friday's deadline to approve funding.
Four funding bills are extended through March 8, and the remaining budgets are extended through March 22.
Leading U.S. lawmakers said in a joint statement that they “agreed that Congress needs a bipartisan effort to fund the government.”
The House is expected to vote on the emergency measure as early as Thursday.
There is a wide gap between Democrats and Republicans in budget negotiations over border security and aid to Ukraine.
Republicans control the House by a narrow margin, but Democrats control the Senate with one seat. Spending bills to keep the U.S. government running require consent from both parties to advance through both chambers of Congress and to the president's desk for signature.
There have been 10 U.S. government shutdowns or partial shutdowns in the past 40 years.
The bipartisan agreement was signed by House and Senate negotiators on Wednesday, a day after members of Congress visited the White House to meet with President Joe Biden.
The bill “will be voted on in both chambers this week,” according to a statement from House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. It's planned.
Congressional leaders now face the difficult task of persuading rank-and-file members to support the deal.
He faces stiff opposition from members of his party's right wing who want to cut spending and say further aid to Ukraine should be tied to additional funding for U.S. border security.
Those lawmakers were furious over the short-term budget deal Mr. McCarthy struck with Democrats and ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October.
If no deal is reached, about 20% of government departments, including agencies that oversee agriculture, transportation and veterans affairs, will be temporarily closed by 12:01 p.m. Saturday.
Other federal funding, including defense, homeland security and the State Department budget, also expires in a week. Past government shutdowns have led to furloughs of government employees and closures of national parks.