Lawmakers hope to avoid government shutdown as intense 2024 budget battle brews: report

The United States dodged a major economic bullet when, in May, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) reached a debt ceiling agreement and prevented the country from defaulting on its debt obligations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) all went along with the agreement. But some House Freedom Caucus hardliners deeply resented the deal and fault McCarthy for compromising with Biden.

Now, the U.S. is facing another economic battle: the need to work out a budget for the 2024 fiscal year by September 30 in order to avoid a federal government shutdown.

READ MORE: America's 'debt ceiling madness' will eventually 'deal the nation a crippling self-inflicted blow': columnist

The Washington Post's Jeff Stein, in a report published on July 24, explains, "Many GOP leaders are pushing to limit funding for the 2024 fiscal year to what the budget was in 2022, which would mean a $115 billion cut that Democrats reject…. A government shutdown would not be as calamitous as breaching the debt ceiling, but it would affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers and, depending on how long it lasts, potentially impact the broader U.S. economy."

Stein reports that members of Congress are "trying to approve 12 appropriations bills," with each one funding a different area of the federal government. But an omnibus package — meaning all of the bills being approved at once — won't be possible this time because, the Post reporter notes, McCarthy "promised conservatives that in return for their support for his bid to become speaker, the House would handle each bill on its own."

"Government shutdowns affect most federal workers," Stein observes. "During the last shutdown, which started in December 2018, roughly 800,000 workers were sent home without pay. Once the shutdown ends, workers are typically compensated in full for their missed paychecks. Workers who are deemed 'essential' continue to work unpaid."

Stein adds, "Other impacts can include shutting down national parks, recipients missing food stamp payments and disruptions to environmental and food inspections. Unlike a default, U.S. bond payments to creditors are not at risk.

READ MORE: America's 'debt ceiling madness' will eventually 'deal the nation a crippling self-inflicted blow': columnist

The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required).