Congress is finally back to work this week with yet another funding deadline looming over Capitol Hill. This time around, though, the members are starting things off on a rare positive note. Congressional leaders over the weekend announced that they've come to an agreement on the top-line spending amounts that will be divided among the federal government's various programs and departments.
This is a big deal because House Republicans have been grumbling for months about the deal between former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Joe Biden during last year's debt ceiling negotiations. That agreement — passed into law as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act — mandated that the current fiscal year would be funded with an overall spending level of $1.59 trillion. According to Sunday's announcement, the current fiscal year will now be funded with an overall spending level of $1.59 trillion.
Yes, you read that correctly. There is no substantive difference between the agreement made between Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., despite Johnson's attempts to say otherwise. It's the appropriations process version of Vanilla Ice insisting that the beat for "Ice Ice Baby" is entirely different than the bass line to Queen and David Bowie's hit "Under Pressure."
Tomorrow, Andrea Mitchell sits down with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv for an exclusive interview amidst Secretary Blinken's latest trip to the Middle East and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Watch Andrea Mitchell Reports, tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
Tomorrow, with the top Republican candidates taking different stages in Iowa, Rachel Maddow and team will break down the night and discuss what's at stake ahead of Monday's caucuses. Watch "Caucus Countdown," tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
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