A sprawling emergency funding package containing tens of billions of dollars for disaster response and energy programs has barely gotten traction on Capitol Hill, threatening the solvency of certain federal accounts.
In the nearly four months since President Joe Biden made his $50 billion domestic supplemental funding request, Congress has been consumed by tumultuous negotiations over fiscal 2024 spending bills, foreign aid and border security.
domestic supplemental funding request
As a result, the domestic package — containing $23.5 billion for disaster response, $2.2 billion for nuclear fuel processing and $220 million for wildland firefighter salaries, among other items — has failed to even register on the minds of many lawmakers.
Asked recently about the status of the bill, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee whose home state is among the top recipients of federal disaster funding, said, “That’s a good question.
