Congressional leaders agreed Wednesday to a funding deal that would prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend, extending the expiration dates for federal finances until later in March as lawmakers iron out the final details of a $1.7 trillion spending package.
Roughly 20 percent of the federal government — including the departments of Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture — is set to shutter at 12:01 a.m. Saturday unless Congress approves new spending legislation.
Under this agreement between House and Senate leadership, funding for those departments and the Commerce, Justice and Interior departments would expire on March 8 instead, a week later than planned. Funding for the rest of the government, including the Defense and State departments, would be extended until March 22. Two people familiar with the budget talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the fragility of the negotiations, confirmed the details of the plan.