Will US Congress have time to pass a law on financing
2022.12.12 09:06
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Will US Congress have time to pass a law on financing
Budrigannews.com – As Democrats and Republicans clash over the specifics of an anticipated $1.5 trillion funding bill in the final weeks that Democrats control both the House and Senate, the U.S. Congress faces a Friday deadline to fund the federal government.
On legislation that was supposed to be enacted by October 1, when Washington’s fiscal year began, this end-of-year battle over budget priorities has become a ritual. Last week, Republican Senator Richard Shelby told reporters that the negotiators were about $25 billion apart, or just 1.7% of what they spent last year.
The House and Senate have not reached an agreement on any of the a dozen appropriations bills. As a result, programs for environmental protection, medical research, and air traffic control, as well as national parks and national parks, could face financial strain when the current funds run out on Friday at midnight.
Behind-the-scenes efforts made progress toward an agreement on an “omnibus” spending bill over the weekend. It would combine the 12 appropriations bills to provide funding for the entire government up until September 30, 2023.
This led Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy to abandon his plan to present a funding bill written by Democrats this week. Because Republicans opposed it, that bill had no chance of passing.
“Chairman Leahy believes that the weekend’s negotiations made enough progress to delay the omnibus appropriations bill’s introduction for the time being.” The bipartisan and bicameral negotiations are still going on, according to a Senate Democratic aide.
Leahy on Thursday had referred to the liberals’ arrangement as “fair and bipartisan” and said it should draw in an adequate number of conservative votes to pass. However, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell immediately criticized it.
If the omnibus bill was not passed this week, Democrats, who hold the House and Senate by the smallest of margins, would probably rush to pass a temporary “continuing resolution” that would mostly keep spending the same as last year.
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They would first need to decide whether such “CR” legislation would last only a few days to months or until September of next year.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who is a member of the Democratic caucus, stated that he was concerned that passing a short-term bill might cause problems for Democrats in the new year, when Republicans will take control of the House.
Sanders stated on Sunday on CNN, “Short-term extensions are just a temporary solution to the ongoing crisis we face.”
“Clearly, what I worry about is Republican efforts to hold the government hostage next year in order to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid if we don’t get an omnibus bill passed. I will vigorously oppose that.”
Leaders from both parties have stated that simply increasing current spending would seriously underfund programs related to national security.
Washington would be facing a cascade of furloughs for federal workers if these strategies failed. That was exactly what happened four years ago, and it turned into a government service disruption that lasted a record 35 days and nearly forced major East Coast airports to close.
