With an eye on a government shutdown, Congress introduces a $174 billion spending package to fund three key areas

Congress pushed through a $174 billion spending package. With the fresh memory of the last government shutdown, which was the longest in history, the bipartisan proposal seeks to avoid another shutdown. The House of Representatives is expected to vote in the coming days.

The spending package was announced by the House Appropriations Committee and funds three of the 12 areas of government: commerce, justice and science ($78 billion), energy and water ($58 billion) and interior and environment ($38 billion).

The legislation also includes $3 billion in 'Community Project Funding', which are specific funds that lawmakers set aside for specific projects in their districts, for example, infrastructure.

"This bipartisan and bicameral package invests in priorities crucial to the American people: making our communities safer, supporting affordable and reliable energy, and responsibly managing vital resources," Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said via a statement.

"Developed through committee-led negotiations and thoughtful deliberation, this package demonstrates how an accountable process produces strong policy. I commend our Cardinals for their leadership in producing a measure that turns priorities into action and puts America first," he added.

Under legislation passed in November, the government is funded through Jan. 30. Republicans and senior Democrats are seeking to avoid another shutdown, so they are working preemptively to pass the necessary appropriations.

If passed in the House, the Senate is expected to present few hurdles until they reach Donald Trump.

Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, stated the following, "Importantly, passing these bills will help ensure that Congress, not President Trump and Russ Vought, decides how taxpayer dollars are spent — by once again providing hundreds of detailed spending directives and reasserting congressional control over these incredibly important spending decisions."

How is the government funded?

Each year, Congress must pass twelve budget appropriations bills, one for each major area of the federal government, e.g., defense, education, transportation or agriculture.

These bills authorize and allocate money to federal agencies to operate during the new fiscal year, which begins on October 1. If these bills are not passed on time, the government runs out of legal funds to spend and part of the public administration must shut down, as had already happened last November.

Precisely, in November a patch was approved that extended the current funding until January 30. This is called Continuing Resolution (CR) and keeps agencies operating at the same spending level as the previous year. It is used when Congress fails to reach an agreement to approve appropriations.

In this context, and instead of approving these twelve packages one by one, legislators opt to combine all or several of them into a single bill. This 'mega-package' is called 'omnibus'. Instead, this agreement includes the approval of a 'minibus', which includes only two or three of these earmarks. This 'minibus' includes three of the twelve areas to be funded, which are as follows: