The U.S. has agreed on a $1.6 trillion government budget for 2024

Representatives of the Republican and Democratic parties in Congress have reached an agreement on the issue of funding the work of the federal government in 2024. This is stated in a written statement by US President Joe Biden, distributed by the White House press service.

“The bipartisan funding bill that leaders in Congress have agreed on brings us closer to preventing an unnecessary government shutdown and protecting important national priorities,” Biden said. According to him, the budget envisioned in the funding bill meets the White House’s requirements.

The total U.S. government budget for 2024 will be $1.6 trillion, of which $886 billion will be allocated for defense spending and $704 billion for other spending.

In November 2023, Biden signed a bill approved by both houses of Congress to temporarily fund the work of the federal government. It was expected that if the U.S. authorities failed to reach new agreements with the Republicans, the allocation of funds for the government could be partially suspended after January 19, 2024. This would have led to the suspension of several government programs and agencies dealing with agriculture, energy, military construction, transportation and housing, among others.

“Now Republicans in Congress need to do their job, stop threatening a government shutdown and fulfill basic funding commitments for the nation’s key domestic policy and security priorities, including approving my request for additional funding,” Biden said.

The Washington administration sent a supplemental budget request to Congress last October for fiscal year 2024, which began in the U.S. on Oct. 1, primarily to assist Israel and Ukraine and to counter China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the executive branch, led by President Joe Biden, would like about $106 billion for these purposes.

The further fate of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. Several Republicans in the House and Senate have recently spoken out against continuing financial aid to Kiev. Johnson has warned several times of his intention to link further aid to Ukraine to tighter controls on the U.S. southern border. Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has also spoken in a similar vein.

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