Insider’s Report: Current Spending Deal in Congress: The Good and the Bad

Q: Tell us about the deal on Capitol Hill that may avert a government shutdown — and how it might impact seniors.

Adcock: There seems to be a deal for an appropriations bill for FY 2024, which we’re already in by the way. It sounds like there’s finally been an agreement between key House and Senate negotiators on how much each of the appropriation committees will get to spend. These appropriations measures will probably be brought to the floor in bundles … making progress toward meeting the March 1 deadline for nailing down spending for military and veterans’ affairs — and March 8 for everything else, including most of the funding affecting seniors (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Older Americans Act programs).

Q: Are we happy with this deal?

Adcock: The deal basically means that the government likely won’t shut down, which is good news for everyone. And even though the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget is going to be fairly austere, funding for the programs we care about is going to be a lot better than it could have been. Originally, Republicans wanted flat funding for everything, and wanted to put any surplus funds toward deficit reduction rather than spending it on programs that help everyday people.

Q: How does this deal compare to previous spending agreements between the GOP and Democrats?

Adcock: This new deal is fairly close to the debt limit agreement between President Biden and congressional Republicans last year. It limits non-defense spending to FY 2023 levels, but claws back some money (including surplus Covid money and funding that was supposed to go to the IRS for greater enforcement) that can be put toward domestic priorities. 

Dan goes onto answer questions about how the Social Security Administration fares in the current spending deal. He also updates us on the status of a fiscal commission that could end up recommending cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Read our full interview with Dan Adcock here.

Please help us send a powerful message to your lawmakers that seniors won’t stand for our earned benefits being cut in the name of deficit reduction by signing our Emergency Petition to Congress today!

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