WASHINGTON – US Congressional negotiators on Sunday released the text of a bill to fund the government for the remainder of the budget year that runs through the end of September. The United States faces the risk of a government shutdown unless Parliament approves the budget by Friday.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill sets a spending level of $1.66 trillion (about 1.53 trillion euros) for the 2024 budget. It details the agreement reached by Schumer and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in early January.
Congress last week passed the fourth emergency measure since Oct. 1 to keep the government funded. It imposed two self-imposed deadlines: by March 8, an agreement had to be reached preventing a partial lockdown, and by March 22, all government expenditures had to be funded.
With the bill's passage on Sunday, both deadlines will be met. Schumer said the House will have to vote on it next week so the Senate can adopt it by Friday.
