White House details stopgap funding priorities to Congress

politicopro.com

September 12, 2024 3:18 am

The ā€œanomaliesā€ request lists extra funding the Biden administration is seeking as lawmakers prepare to clear a continuing resolution before the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.

The Biden administration sent Congress a 30-page list of extra funding it wants lawmakers to include in a short-term spending patch lawmakers must pass to stave off a government shutdown at month’s end.

The list, known as “anomalies,”Ā details funding exceptions the White House is seekingĀ amid otherwise stagnant budgets under a continuing resolution.

The administration is pushing for an extra $15.4 billion to help the Social Security Administration deal with staffing and customer service issues, as well as $12 billion in mandatory funding to address a major looming shortfall for veterans medical care. The White House also seeks $7.7 billion to ensure that women, infants and children can continue receiving federal food assistance through WIC, nearly $2 billion for Navy shipbuilding and $2.4 billion to help manage federal student aid operations and more.

What’s next:Ā The list of ā€œanomaliesā€ essentially kicks off the debate over what federal programs will receive a boost beyond the static spending levels in a stopgap.

Once they return next week, lawmakers will have just three weeks to pass a continuing resolution that staves off a shutdown on Oct. 1, likely with a number of other priorities in the mix, such as disaster aid and money to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

House conservatives are pushing for a funding patch through March, with a standalone citizenship voting bill known as the SAVE Act attached, hoping for maximum leverage to influence the appropriations process next year if former President Donald Trump wins a second term. Democrats have already rejected that plan, preferring to fund the government before the end of the calendar year.