Boosting disaster relief, helping deepfake porn victims: Here's what's in the latest government funding deal

WASHINGTON ? Lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement on Tuesday to keep the government funded through mid-March, likely staving off a major shutdown over the holidays.

Thousands of federal employees would be furloughed, and other important resources could be delayed or put on pause if Congress can't pass the funding extension in time to keep the government's doors open. Current funding will run out Friday night, but lawmakers are expected to approve the latest deal.

But along with an extension of government funds, the 1,547-page agreement also includes a variety of add-ons. Those cover disaster relief for states hit by hurricanes, health care measures to lower drug costs and pay raises for members of Congress. The legislation would also criminalize deepfake pornography.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously told his fellow lawmakers he wouldn't pass a big end-of-year spending package known as a "Christmas tree." The holiday-themed nickname refers to an abundance of ornaments, or extra provisions and amendments, hung on a must-pass funding bill.

On Tuesday, Johnson insisted this extension is "not a Christmas tree" and that many of the extra initiatives were "out of our control," citing longstanding challenges among American farmers and the deadly hurricanes that rocked parts of the Southeast in the fall.

Here's what you need to know about some of the add-ons lawmakers could approve by the end of the week.

Pay raises for lawmakers

Tuesday's bill would give lawmakers their first raise since 2009.

Members of Congress currently make $174,000 a year, with increases for some leadership positions. With this proposed change, lawmakers could see up to a $6,600 raise next year, according to a Congressional Research Service study.

Disaster relief

One of the least surprising add-ons to the funding package were disaster relief efforts. Lawmakers hailing from states that have been hit by disasters this year had been pushing for the funding to be included for months.

The bill would provide $100 billion in funds for cleanup after devastating Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which rocked Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and other Southern states, as well as other disasters.

It would target $29 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund; $21 billion for aid to farmers hit by flooding and other losses; and $10 billion in economic assistance for them.

Baltimore bridge funding

Another top priority under the disaster relief effort is a provision to fully fund the rebuilding of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The bridge collapsed in March after being struck by a cargo ship, Dali. Six workers died in the tragedy.

State officials have estimated that it will cost around $2 billion to reconstruct the bridge.

Helping victims of deepfake porn

Another provision in the bipartisan deal would criminalize deepfake pornography, or nonconsensual and AI-generated graphic imagery. It would also give victims of the digital forgeries a means to have deepfakes removed, with social media platforms required to have procedures to take down the content.

Women and girls are often the predominant targets of deepfake pornography, according to researchers.

A study this month from the American Sunlight Project found female members of Congress were 70 times more likely to appear in deepfakes than male lawmakers.

Efforts to lower the costs of health care

The bill includes sweeping health care reforms, but one of the major changes would be target the pharmaceutical benefit manager, or PBM, industry.

These health care middlemen, responsible for negotiating prices with pharmaceutical companies, are often accused of with raising the costs of drugs for consumers.

The proposed guardrails are would require PBMs to provide more information on payments for drugs and how much money they pay in compensation to pharmacies, amid other policies aimed at reigning in common industry practices and making pharmaceuticals more affordable.

Ticket price transparency

A new act within the spending bill would require ticket sellers to make the total cost of a ticket clear to consumers from the outset and throughout the buying process ? essentially outlawing additional fees critics have said consumers aren't aware of until they make a purchase.

President Joe Biden and the Department of Justice had pressured Ticketmaster, Live Nation and other major vendors to eliminate these so-called "junk fees" after several fans of popstar Taylor Swift complained of unaffordable prices for tickets to her Eras Tour.

Contributing: Riley Beggin, Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Congress' latest deal addresses disaster relief, deepfake porn