Congress is poised to pass a stopgap spending bill to avert a shutdown today and keep the government running five more days as a standoff intensifies over controversial add-ons included in the year-end budget deal.
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The Senate agreed by voice vote and without debate Thursday to extend that deadline through Wednesday Dec. 16 to allow more time for talks.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are still trying to work out a $1.1 trillion spending bill despite issues the two sides still need to resolve, NBC News reported.
For instance, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said she would “insist” the bill include a provision lifting a ban on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research of gun violence, something many Republicans oppose.
The House is expected to approve the short-term bill on Friday.
The Senate’s vote was largely party line: two Democrats, including Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, joined Republicans in supporting the measure, while four Republicans joined Democrats in opposing it.
Other sources said there was also significant progress made Wednesday on issues involving state reimbursements for school construction projects, charter schools and other side issues that have budget ramifications.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers introduced the bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown Wednesday. “We’re going to get it done”. Asked about the measure at his weekly news conference Thursday, Ryan told reporters he was not going to conduct sensitive budget negotiations in the media. “But again, the House Republicans will have input and have a say in this now”. IL consumers will pay more for toiletries and candy, along with liquor, starting Tuesday, as taxes on those items increase to help pay for the state’s $30 billion infrastructure-improvement plan.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) (C) speaks to the assembled House after being elected as the new Speaker in Washington October 29, 2015. “We’re doing all of the things that you would do, the appropriators and the leaders, so that we can get to an agreement”. We’re not going to let Democrats jam us with hard deadlines – these are all artificial deadlines.
“I think there is confidence that we will get a deal in the end”, Cole said.
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Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said it is “perfectly reasonable that Republicans in this majority” would want to pursue a policy agenda separate from the Democrats. But the price tag could balloon to $700 billion or more as Democrats seek to make permanent some expiring tax cuts for families with lower incomes, younger children and college students; Republicans were seeking to extend expiring business tax breaks worth many billions.
