CBS News
What’s in the continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown? See key details from the spending bill.
Washington — Congressional leaders unveiled a stopgap measure late Thursday to keep the government funded for three months, pushing a larger funding fight into the new year.
But the 1,500 page measure, known as a continuing resolution, would do more than keep the government funded at current levels to prevent a government shutdown. The bill is laden with dozens of add-ons that make it resemble the massive end-of-year spending packages that GOP leaders have vowed to avoid.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of the measure’s release on Tuesday that it was originally intended to be “a very simple, very clean” stopgap funding measure to get the party into the new year. But the Louisiana Republican said a “couple of intervening things” occurred, and he is now left to deal with growing discontent among members of his own party.
Here are some of the bill’s major add-ons:
Disaster funding
The legislation includes $110.4 billion in disaster aid: $29 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief fund; $8 billion for federal highways and roads; $12 billion for the Community Development Block grants and disaster relief; and $3.25 billion for Tribal Assistance grants. It also replenishes the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program with $2.2 billion. The program was exhausted in the aftermath of Hurricanes Milton and Helene earlier this year.
The measure also includes $21 billion in disaster relief for farmers and $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, along with a one-year extension of the farm bill.
RFK stadium transfer
The legislation clears the way for a long-sought priority in Washington, D.C.: transferring administrative jurisdiction over the RFK Memorial Stadium Campus to the district, which will allow the city to negotiate the return of the Washington Commanders football team.
The Commanders currently play in Landover, Maryland, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has vowed to bring the team back to the District.
Baltimore bridge rebuilding
The measure also includes a commitment from the federal government to pay the entire cost of rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March.
Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin of Maryland said in a joint statement Tuesday that the provision “will allow the bridge to be built as quickly as possible.” And they noted that federal taxpayers will be reimbursed by insurance payments and through the results of litigation against the company that operated the cargo ship that crashed into the bridge.
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Pay raise for members of Congress
After more than a decade of blocking pay raises in Congress amid concern over the issue becoming a political liability, the continuing resolution includes a provision that allows an automatic cost of living increase to go into effect for lawmakers.
Since 2009, lawmakers have earned $174,000 annually, with higher salaries for some members of leadership.
Health care policy extenders and reforms
Within the legislation is a health care package that spans hundreds of pages. It takes on a number of priorities for lawmakers, from extending telehealth flexibility under Medicare to a five-year reauthorization of legislation aimed at combatting the opioid crisis and a measure to prevent pandemics. The legislation also requires pharmacy benefit managers to provide detailed data on drug spending and pass on the full amount of rebates to lower drug costs for American consumers.
Transparency in ticket and hotel prices
The funding measure also includes provisions aimed at making hotel and live-event ticket prices more transparent by prohibiting deceptive advertising. The legislation requires that ticket sellers and hotels must disclose the full price, while the ticket sellers must guarantee refunds in the event of cancellation or postponement.
Addressing drone threats
Among the legislation is a measure to counter threats from drones following a slew of mysterious drone sightings on the East Coast that have prompted concern. The legislation extends a portion of the Homeland Security Act that authorizes officials to track unmanned aircrafts and disrupt their control.
contributed to this report.
CBS News
Texas man fights to reunite with wife and kids, including newborn twins, who were unexpectedly deported to Mexico
A Texas man is fighting to get his wife and four children back after he says they were unexpectedly deported to Mexico.
Federico Arellano is a U.S. citizen, and says three of his four kids are too. He says there has been a misunderstanding and that his family was misled.
Now, a video call is the only way he’s been able to see his family.
Agents deport family
ICE agents deported Arellano’s wife, Christina Salazar, and their four kids to Mexico last week after they say they were told to come to the ICE field office in Houston to discuss Salazar’s immigration case.
“They told me that they were going to take her to Mexico because she had a deportation order,” Arellano said.
A judge signed off on the order in early October after Salazar missed an immigration hearing. The family says Salazar was recovering from giving birth to premature twins and doctors recommended she recover at home during that time.
Arellano said he informed the court about the situation and claims they reassured him by phone the date could be rescheduled.
Nearly two months later, Arellano said agents detained his wife and then their four children.
Immigration attorney Isaias Torres, who represents the family, said he has not seen an instance like this one that involves a family.
“I’ve seen criminals, ardent criminals, people with prior deportation. … I don’t understand why this happened,” Torres said.
Hopes to reunite
A video call is now the only way Arellano can see Salazar and their kids for the foreseeable future.
“I’m alone. I have no one to help me with my kids here and they are really sick,” Salazar said in a video call from Reynosa, Mexico.
Attorneys for the family said they are reaching out to members of Congress for help. ICE and the DOJ have not responded to CBS News for a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Arellano said he just wants his family back.
“To get them back and of course they return to me just as they were taken away. I want them to return to me,” he said.
The Charlotte Hornets have issued an apology for a recent skit involving a gift and a young fan.
During the second quarter of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, the Hornets performed a skit where a child was brought down to the court to meet the team’s mascot, who was dressed as Santa Claus, CBS Sports reported. A letter from the boy to Santa asking for a PlayStation 5, was read aloud. Then a cheerleader gave the boy a bag containing the video game console. While the cameras rolled, the boy seemed elated to have received the console.
Once the cameras stopped rolling, though, the video game station was taken away from the boy and he was given a jersey instead. The boy’s uncle was told that he would not be able to keep the console. A clip of the incident went viral on social media.
The Hornets issued an apology on Tuesday, saying that the skit “missed the mark” and “included bad decision making and poor communication.”
Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images
“Simply put, we turned the ball over and we apologize. We have reached out to the family and are committed to not only making it right but to exceeding expectations. We will be providing the fan with the PS5 that he should have taken home last night along with a VIP experience to a future game,” the team said, according to CBS Sports. “Our goal is and will remain to elevate the guest experience for every person that enters Spectrum Center, and to show our fans how much we appreciate their relentless support.”
The Hornets have won seven games this season and lost 19, according to ESPN.
Basketball star Michael Jordan sold his majority ownership in the team to a group of investors last year for a reported $3 billion.
CBS News
Senate passes $895 billion defense bill with controversial gender-affirming care restriction
Washington — The Senate approved the mammoth $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, despite concern from some Democrats over a controversial policy restricting gender-affirming care for children of servicemembers.
In a 85 to 14 vote, the Senate approved the legislation, which the House passed last week. Eleven Democrats and three Republicans voted against it in the upper chamber. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
The 1,800 page national security legislation to authorize funding for the Defense Department for fiscal year 2025. But the bill includes a handful of controversial policies, like the gender-affirming care restriction, and lost support from the majority of Democrats in the House.
The Democratic-controlled Senate pushed forward with the measure nonetheless. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that while the NDAA “isn’t perfect,” it still “includes some very good things that Democrats fought for” — citing provisions aimed at standing up against the Chinese Communist Party, boosting the use of artificial intelligence for national defense and expanding domestic tech innovation.
“Congress has passed the NDAA on a bipartisan basis for over six straight decades, and this year will be no different,” Schumer said ahead of the vote on Wednesday. “We’re passing the NDAA and that’s a very good thing.”
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, derided the gender-affirming care restriction earlier this week, calling it “the product of a nationwide campaign against trans rights” and arguing that the legislation’s approval would mark “the first anti-LGBTQ law passed by Congress in decades.”
Still, the outcome of the vote was all but guaranteed after the Senate advanced the measure on Monday in a 83-12 procedural vote.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, celebrated the NDAA’s “immense accomplishments,” including a 14.5% pay raise for junior service members and investments in recruitment capabilities. But he said Congress “missed an opportunity to strengthen the president-elect’s hand as he takes office in a precarious world situation.”
Wicker outlined that the Armed Services Committee proposed $25 billion for modernization programs, including for missile defense, ship building and counter-drone technology, saying “this should have been part of the bill today.”
Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat who chairs the Armed Services Committee, called the legislation a “strong, forward looking bill that we can all be proud of.” But he said he “strongly” disagrees with the inclusion of the gender-affirming care provision, calling it a “misguided provision.”
“I share many of my colleagues’ frustrations that the bill includes a provision that would prohibit gender-affirming health care for minors under certain circumstances,” Reed noted, adding that he voted against the provision in committee. “We will continue to work to ensure the health care rights of all military personnel and their dependents.”
Texas man fights to reunite with wife and kids, including newborn twins, who were unexpectedly deported to Mexico
Charlotte Hornets apologize after a gift-giving skit with young fan went awry
Senate passes $895 billion defense bill with controversial gender-affirming care restriction
Texas man fights to reunite with wife and kids, including newborn twins, who were unexpectedly deported to Mexico
Charlotte Hornets apologize after a gift-giving skit with young fan went awry