Last week, Congress continued to forge ahead on negotiating an Appropriations deal. Democrats and Republicans reached a topline spending agreement for a fiscal 2023 omnibus, three of the four top appropriators on Capitol Hill said late Tuesday, December 13th, 2022.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said in a statement that negotiators had “reached a bipartisan, bicameral framework that should allow us to finish an omnibus appropriations bill that can pass the House and Senate and be signed into law by the president.”
Appropriations Committee staff have been working furiously behind the scenes to be prepared for all eventualities, with the goal of ensuring that once a deal was reached, the twelve spending bills could come together quickly. It’s expected that the final bill will be unveiled on Monday.
At this time, there has been no information released about the toplines or potential legislative packages that might be included. There is still momentum behind a few of CWLA’s priorities for children and families: Democrats and Republicans have both called for increased funding for child care through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) beyond the $1Bil increase included in draft bills; there has also been a concerted effort to raise awareness and attention on the reauthorizations of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV). We will know on Monday, or whenever the final bill is released, if these efforts have been successful.
On Friday President Biden signed a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) that would continue to fund the government at the current levels for one more week, giving Congress more time to iron out the details. The CR was passed in the House in a 224-201 vote on Wednesday, and in the Senate in a 71-19 vote on Thursday.
