WASHINGTON — After five months of delays, haggling and inaction, Congress could be on the verge of finally passing a budget.
Six bipartisan appropriations bills unveiled over the weekend that total about $460 billion would fund military construction as well as the departments of Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Agriculture, Interior and Housing and Urban Development.
Passage of the so-called "minibus" could finally end the five-month standoff over the Fiscal year 2024 budget, which, to date, has resulted in four continuing resolutions freezing funding at the prior year's levels.
Rep. Jen Kiigans (R-Virgina, 2nd District) is hopeful that this time, Congress will actually pass a long-term budget.
"I sure hope we do. It's been frustrating for me, and many commonsense members of Congress who are here to get work done. We need to get these budget bills passed. We've had deadlines and we've just kicked the can down the road several times. So, it's been disappointing," she said in an interview with 13News Now.
The six bills must pass before Friday to avert a partial shutdown.
Under House rules, legislative text must be available for at least 72 hours before lawmakers can vote on the bill, meaning it could be brought to the floor in the House as early as Wednesday.
The package would then need to pass in the Senate before being sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The package of bills under consideration would result in a 10 percent cut in funding to the Environmental Protection Agency, a 7 percent cut to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a 6 percent cut to the FBI.