US congressional negotiators aim to fund government through March 14, source says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic negotiators in the U.S. Congress are closing in on a deal for a stopgap bill to fund the government through March 14, averting a partial shutdown that would otherwise begin Saturday, a source familiar with the talks said on Monday.

The measure would likely keep the roughly $6.2 trillion federal budget running at its current level, funding everything from the military to air traffic controllers to federal securities regulators at their current level. It is expected to include an extension of the farm bill, an omnibus package passed every five years, a Republican Senate aide said.

The stopgap measure is needed because Congress failed to pass its 12 annual appropriations bills in time for the current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1. The government’s “mandatory” programs – which include Social Security and Medicare retirement and healthcare benefits and represent about two-thirds of the budget – renew automatically.

Congress’ failure to address the gap between federal revenue and spending has contributed to the rising national debt — currently north of $36 trillion. Congress will have to address that again early next year, when a 2023 deal to extend the nation’s “debt ceiling” expires. Failure could shock bond markets with potentially severe economic consequences.

Democrats had pushed for a longer bill, funding the government through the end of its current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. But Republicans balked, wanting to wait for final agreement until after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20 and their party takes its majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Trump and congressional Republicans campaigned this year on a promise of significantly cutting the number of federal workers and proposing deep cuts to many of the government’s programs.

(This story has been refiled to say ‘negotiators aim,’ not ‘negotiating deal,’ in the headline)