Congress unveils $1.1 trillion government funding bill

(Bloomberg) — House and Senate lawmakers agreed to a bipartisan compromise to fund the U.S. government through Sept. 30, unveiling the measure days before financing for federal agencies is scheduled to lapse.

The $1.1 trillion measure, H.R. 3547, includes $1.01 trillion for U.S. government operations, plus war financing known as overseas combat operations.

Republican efforts to derail some regulatory initiatives and to deny funding for implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) were left out to ensure passage and avoid a repeat of the 16-day partial government shutdown in October.

The bill, announced last night by lawmakers including House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, probably will reach the House floor tomorrow, Rogers said.

Negotiators had agreed on a $1.01 trillion base spending level in December as part of a two-year, bipartisan budget agreement. The spending measure unveiled late yesterday would support defense spending at about $573 billion for the current fiscal year, with $85.2 billion for overseas combat operations in Afghanistan, about $2 billion less than in fiscal year 2013.

 ‘Step forward’

The bill “represents a positive step forward for the nation and our economy,” Sylvia Mathews Burwell, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement. President Barack Obama’s administration “urges Congress to move quickly to pass it,” she said.

Government funding runs through tomorrow, so lawmakers plan to pass a separate three-day bill at current funding levels to push the deadline to Jan. 18. That would give lawmakers enough time to enact the comprehensive legislation without risking a government shutdown.

The House plans to vote on the stopgap measure today.

The Senate plans to take up and pass the short-term extension once the House completes action. Any senator could delay passage of either measure for about four days, though no senators have said they will do so.

In October, when the government shut down, efforts to thwart PPACA were at the center of the funding bill fight.

This time around, “there is nothing in the bill that blocks Obamacare,” Mikulski said.

“We tried to keep those political riders out,” said Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Senate Republican appropriator.

Even so, Republicans were able to place several provisions they’ve sought into the final measure.