Congressmen in the US head home for Christmas break, leaving key issues unresolved and pushing the biggest battles to the New Year. The two critical issues that remain pending are striking a deal on the annual spending bill and resolving the disputed Ukraine funding. Despite the holiday break, Congress will have a limited timeframe to address these issues when they reconvene in January.
When Congress resumes on January 9, they will have just two short weeks to fund transportation, housing, agriculture, and energy programs by January 19. Following this, they will only have three additional days to fund all federal agencies before a potential government shutdown on February 2. The legislators in both the Senate and House of Representatives are facing challenges in reaching an agreement on how much they want to spend, which has caused a logjam in passing the Biden administration’s $1.7 trillion budget, now trimmed to $1.59 trillion.
One of the major issues complicating the funding process is the fight over funding for Ukraine, totaling around $61 billion. This issue, along with the southern border security policies, is tied to the appropriations bills. Senate negotiators have chosen to stay in Washington, D.C. during the break to work out a framework deal. However, divisions persist not only between the Senate and the House but also within the Democratic party, making the Ukraine funding uncertain.
Pressure from European allies is mounting on the Biden administration to ensure that the Ukraine funding is passed. Concerns are rising that Ukraine could fall to Russia if the funding is not secured. However, there are opposing views within Congress. The Hungarian Prime Minister has opposed any funding to Ukraine, while Republican congressmen argue that funding is needed for issues at the southern border, such as Texas and California, in order to prevent an influx of people from South America due to political instability.
The spending bill and Ukraine funding are intertwined, further complicating the situation. In addition, the recent changes in House leadership have added another layer of disagreement. House Republicans are advocating for dropping the $69 billion they consider gimmicks from the spending bill, which was originally included to secure Democratic support for the debt ceiling deal.
Speaker Mike Johnson, who replaced Kevin McCarthy, has stated that House Republicans will stick to the $1.59 trillion budget but reject the additional $69 billion. This would result in a significant cut to non-defense spending, causing tensions and disagreements between the House and the Senate. While Senate Republicans and Democrats are more aligned on adhering to the original Biden-McCarthy deal, Johnson’s unique laddered funding proposal from November poses a great challenge to meeting the funding deadlines.
As the deadlines approach, the implications of unresolved appropriations become more apparent. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has expressed concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin is eagerly watching for the appropriations to fail in order to defund Ukraine and potentially regain lost Soviet territory. With the Ukrainian military’s counteroffensive against Russia folding up, the situation becomes even more urgent.
In conclusion, the Christmas break has left Congressmen in the US with key issues unresolved as they head home. The spending bill and the Ukraine funding remain the biggest battles, with disagreements on spending limits and priorities. Pressure from European allies and concerns about Russian aggression in Ukraine further complicate the situation. As Congress reconvenes in January, they face limited timeframes to address these issues before potential government shutdowns. The coming weeks will prove critical in determining the fate of both the annual spending bill and the disputed Ukraine funding.
