Jan 12 The Crystal Ball: What will the final federal fiscal spending bill look like in 2024?

Jan 12h in Bold Voices by

Update, 1/19/24: Congress passed another stopgap CR – bullet number two discussed in the post below – that will fund WIC and other federal agriculture programs through March 1, 2024. This temporary solution does not include the funding necessary to meet projected caseloads for WIC for FY24. We are continuing to advocate for full funding of WIC in the final fiscal year spending bill.

(January 12, 2024)

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently agreed on fiscal year 2024 spending levels, remaining committed to the debt ceiling deal made last spring. This conversation has set the table for more formal appropriations negotiations, which are needed before several federal spending bills expire on January 19, including the Agriculture Appropriations bill that funds WIC. To avoid stopgap measures, such as another temporary Continuing Resolution, appropriators attempted to move the process forward by drafting funding bills, but as time moves on without a deal in place, an agreed-upon finalized funding bill seems less and less likely. Although we can’t predict the future here at Allies for Children, we do know some of the likely scenarios for the budget.

  • Annual funding for both defense and non-defense discretionary programs provided through 12 appropriations bills covering various parts of the government is agreed upon, finalized by both chambers, and signed by the President by January 19. This is highly unlikely given the timeline and current political environment.
  • A temporary Continuing Resolution (CR) for the above federal spending bills, extending the current CR (expiring January 19) to February 2, or for some other short term. This type of “stop-gap” measure seems to be the most likely at this point given the timeline.
  • A CR for one full year to fund all appropriations. This would likely happen sometime after a short-term or stop-gap CR, for the final federal fiscal year 2024 budget.
  • A government shutdown, likely followed by funding through a CR or Annual Funding. This would still allow some “essential” programs to operate for a short time – for example, WIC would serve families until March, but other agencies are more complex. Although a government shutdown is a real possibility, we hope that a clear deadline and looming election season will motivate lawmakers to come to a consensus on or before January 19.

As Congress negotiates, Allies for Children will continue to advocate for full funding for the WIC program in the final federal fiscal budget. We will continue to keep a close eye on the final deals that Congress makes for FY24 and the impact it will have on WIC-eligible families. Please watch this page for updates.

Cristina Codario, Allies for Children Policy Director