Politico's Katherine Tully-McManus, Jennifer Scholtes, and Meredith Lee Hill reported on Monday evening that top lawmakers were still haggling over the final details of a stopgap spending patch tied to various last-ditch priorities as the Friday federal government shutdown deadline loomed closer. While the funding patch negotiations were seemingly resolved, disputes persisted over agriculture aid and other potential add-ons. Leaders were aiming to attach year-end priorities such as extending expiring health programs and a bill to restrict U.S. investment in China. According to three people familiar with the talks, Hill leaders had tentatively reached a compromise on the major parts of a one-year extension of the farm bill. Disputes over these policies had held up negotiations over the weekend, and last-minute jockeying continued on Monday night. The plans so far included an additional $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, as sought by lawmakers from agriculture-heavy districts.

American Farm Bureau Federation's Perspective

In an interview on Monday, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall stated that his team had heard that the "four corners" of the House and Senate Agriculture committees were in agreement at lunchtime on Saturday to move forward with a plan. They had agreed on $10 billion for economic aid, Duvall said. "That's when we started putting pressure from our grassroots," Duvall added. "When we activated our membership, we received over 2,000 contacts asking their congressional representatives to call leadership and set aside politics and get this done."However, lost in the process could be around $14 billion in USDA conservation dollars passed in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022. These funds went into USDA's main farm bill conservation programs but came with the requirement that the farm practices used for those dollars must reduce greenhouse-gas emissions or sequester carbon in the soil.Republicans on the House and Senate Agriculture committees had been pushing all year to roll these dollars into the farm bill while removing the climate requirements. Last week, Stabenow told DTN that her staff had found that rolling the IRA dollars into the farm bill would generate $10.7 billion in savings that could then be used for economic aid. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., apparently informed the "four corners" last week that the GOP caucus did not support using those IRA dollars. If Republicans cut or eliminate all the IRA programs when they control both chambers of Congress, this funding could be lost.

Overall Funding Bill Details

Punchbowl News reported that there had been high expectations that a (Continuing Resolution) CR package would be unveiled on Monday afternoon, giving Congress a chance to go home on Thursday. But as the day progressed, it became evident that no agreement would be released. With Johnson firmly insisting on honoring the 72-hour rule, this pushed a House vote into Thursday night, meaning the Senate might not vote until Friday or even Saturday, right up against the shutdown deadline. Although OMB always provides Congress and the White House some leeway for weekend maneuvers.When the CR is released, it will run until March 14, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) informed. This gives Hill leaders and incoming President-elect Donald Trump time to reach an agreement on the FY2025 spending bills before the automatic sequester takes effect during April. These cuts are mandated under the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, a brainchild of President Joe Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. If not turned off first, the cuts could amount to tens of billions of dollars for defense and non-defense.