The measure would prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday. It would kick final decisions on this budget year's spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. The continuing resolution generally continues current spending levels for agencies.
Passage of the measure is one of the final actions that lawmakers will consider this week before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress. It's the second short-term funding measure the lawmakers have taken up this fall as they struggled to pass the dozen annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, as they typically do.
The bill will provide $100.4 billion in disaster relief, with an additional $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers struggling with low commodity prices and high input costs.
“We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
Net farm income is projected to decline 4.1% this year after falling 19.4% the year before from the record highs reached in 2022. Johnson indicated more farm aid could be delivered in the next Congress, saying “we can't do all it right now.”
“Congress is doing the best it can under difficult circumstances, and I think it will be a big boost for the industry,” Johnson said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the agreement was “free of cuts and poison pills,” and would provide money for Democratic priorities like child care, workforce training and job placement.
“With this agreement, we are now on our way to avoiding a government shutdown," Schumer said.
Rep. Glenn Thompson, the Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he was hoping for more economic relief for farmers, but “it’s a great start.”
“I think it’s going to send the right signal to the markets that most farmers and ranchers are going to be able to get eligible for the credit they need to borrow in order to plant a crop or raise a herd,” Thompson said.
