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Lawmakers unveil second funding package as end to government spending fight comes into focus

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Washington — Leaders in Congress unveiled a widely anticipated government funding package on Wednesday, paving the way for lawmakers to bring an end to a months-long funding saga and ward off a partial government shutdown ahead of a Friday night deadline.

The six-bill package includes money for the departments of State, Homeland Security, Defense, Labor and Health and Human Services, as well as funds for foreign operations, financial services and the legislative branch. If approved, the package would take the threat of a government shutdown off the table until the beginning of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1.

“This FY24 appropriations legislation is a serious commitment to strengthening our national defense by moving the Pentagon toward a focus on its core mission while expanding support for our brave men and women who serve in uniform,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “Importantly, it halts funding for the United Nations agency which employed terrorists who participated in the October 7 attacks against Israel.”

Earlier Wednesday, multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to CBS News that the package would include a ban on all direct U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, the main humanitarian agency operating in Gaza.

This comes after the Biden administration in January said it was temporarily pausing new funding to UNRWA pending a U.N. investigation into Israel’s claims that 12 agency employees participated in the deadly Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel that killed at least 1,200 people.

Johnson said the proposed package would increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention capacity from 34,000 to 42,000 beds, and provides funding for about 22,000 Border Patrol agents. 

“In addition, the bipartisan agreement reached to fund the Department of Homeland Security moves the Department’s operations toward enforcing our border and immigration laws,” Johnson’s statement read. “It significantly cuts funding to NGOs that incentivize illegal immigration and increases detention capacity and the number of Border Patrol agents to match levels in the House-passed appropriations bill and the Secure the Border Act.”

Negotiators struggled to reach a deal on the measure earlier in the week, blowing past a goal to reach an agreement over the weekend as the DHS funding became a sticking point. But leaders announced on Tuesday morning that they had reached consensus.

The annual spending bills appeared especially cumbersome for lawmakers this year, and the disagreements took on new significance amid an ongoing dispute about how to address border security in Congress. 

There is still work to do. The release of the bill’s text kicks off a tight timeline to approve the legislation and stave off a partial government shutdown by 12 a.m. Saturday. House lawmakers are ordinarily given 72 hours to review legislation before a vote is held. But that timeline is expected to be collapsed with the shutdown deadline looming, which could anger some House conservatives already frustrated by the spending agreement. 

The House is expected to pass the legislation under suspension of the rules, requiring the support of two-thirds of the chamber. And despite pushback from some House conservatives over the package, Democrats are expected to join the bulk of House Republicans to propel the legislation to passage before it heads to the Senate. 

In the Senate, unanimity will be required to move the legislation along quickly, since one senator has the power to slow-walk the path to passage. Should any sticking points arise, an additional short-term measure to keep the government funded may be necessary — or funding could lapse for some government agencies. 

“If there’s bipartisan cooperation, we can get this package passed by the deadline,” Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate said Wednesday. “We need to turn the page on fiscal year ’24, take the government off of autopilot, and focus on passing these bills by Friday at midnight.”

Lawmakers are set to leave Washington for a two-week recess beginning next week. Any hiccup would likely require lawmakers to work over the weekend.

Some senators expressed frustration over the time crunch. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, advocated for a continuing resolution to keep the government funded for a few weeks while allowing time for debate.

“This is just common sense,” Lee said. “Give the people’s elected lawmakers the chance to be involved in the lawmaking process, because we’re certainly not doing that now.”

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican, said she’d likely vote against the package, “just because I don’t have time to even look at what’s in it.”

With the text and expected votes on the package, Congress is nearing a resolution to the government funding dilemma that has been prolonged for months. The package is the second of two — lawmakers approved funding that covers a smaller portion of the government earlier this month. 

“We had to get the appropriations process done. I’m delighted to tell you that we’re coming to the end of that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference Wednesday morning. “I think the final product is something that we were able to achieve a lot of key provisions in and wins and a move in the direction that we want even with our tiny, historically small majority.”

Johnson said that after the appropriations process is fully resolved, the attention will turn to supplemental funding in the House. The White House for months has been seeking additional funding for U.S. allies, like Ukraine and Israel, and the Senate approved the funding package earlier this year. But Johnson has opposed bringing the measure to the House floor for a vote. 

The speaker said the conference is exploring “a number of avenues” to address the supplemental issues.

Margaret Brennan contributed to this report



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What to expect from 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans

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What to expect from 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans – CBS News


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The 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture is underway in New Orleans. Janet Jackson, Usher and Birdman are among the headliners with Vice President Kamala Harris also set to make an appearance. Hakeem Holmes, vice president of the festival, joined CBS News to preview what’s in store for attendees.

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GOP, Democratic strategists on Biden’s next steps with calls for him to drop out growing

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GOP, Democratic strategists on Biden’s next steps with calls for him to drop out growing – CBS News


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President Biden will try to tamp down concerns about his campaign Friday with a rally in Wisconsin and an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos amid growing calls for him to end his reelection bid. Democratic strategist Joel Payne and Republican strategist Marc Lotter joined CBS News to discuss the president’s ongoing effort to recover from last week’s debate against former President Donald Trump.

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U.S. troops leaving Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup, officials say

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The U.S. will remove all its forces and equipment from a small base in Niger this weekend and fewer than 500 remaining troops will leave a critical drone base in the West African country in August, ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline set in an agreement with the new ruling junta, the American commander there said Friday.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman said in an interview that a number of small teams of 10-20 U.S. troops, including special operations forces, have moved to other countries in West Africa. But the bulk of the forces will go, at least initially, to Europe. 

United States Niger Troops
In this image by the U.S. Air Force, Maj. Gen. Kenneth P. Ekman speaks to military members in front of a “Welcome to Niamey” sign depicting U.S. military vehicles at Air Base 101 in Niger, May 30, 2024.

Tech. Sgt. Christopher Dyer / AP


Niger’s ouster of American troops following a coup last year has broad ramifications for the U.S. because it is forcing troops to abandon the critical drone base that was used for counterterrorism missions in the Sahel.

Ekman and other U.S. military leaders have said other West African nations want to work with the U.S. and may be open to an expanded American presence. He did not detail the locations, but other U.S. officials have pointed to the Ivory Coast and Ghana as examples.

Ekman, who serves as the director for strategy at U.S. Africa Command, is leading the U.S. military withdrawal from the small base at the airport in Niger’s capital of Niamey and from the larger counterterrorism base in the city of Agadez. He said there will be a ceremony Sunday marking the completed pullout from the airport base, then those final 100 troops and the last C-17 transport aircraft will depart.

Speaking to reporters from The Associated Press and Reuters from the U.S. embassy in Niamey, Ekman said that while portable buildings and vehicles that are no longer useful will be left behind, a lot of larger equipment will be pulled out. For example, he said 18 4,000-pound (1,800-kilograms) generators worth more than $1 million each will be taken out of Agadez.

Unlike the withdrawal from Afghanistan, he said the U.S. is not destroying equipment or facilities as it leaves.

“Our goal in the execution is, leave things in as good a state as possible,” he said. “If we went out and left it a wreck or we went out spitefully, or if we destroyed things as we went, we’d be foreclosing options” for future security relations.

NIGER-US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-DEMO
Protesters hold up a sign demanding that U.S. troops leave Niger immediately during a demonstration in Niamey, Niger, April 13, 2024.

AFP via Getty


Niger’s ruling junta ordered U.S. forces out of the country in the wake of last July’s ouster of the country’s democratically elected president by mutinous soldiers. French forces had also been asked to leave as the junta turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.

Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup in October, triggering U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid.



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