Leading lawmakers in both parties are voicing support for another short-term extension of government funding if one is needed to prevent a shutdown at the end of the week.
House Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerRep. Calvert says he tested positive for COVID-19Overnight Defense: US sanctions NATO ally Turkey over Russian defense system | Veterans groups, top Democrats call for Wilkie’s resignation | Gingrich, other Trump loyalists named to Pentagon boardThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Mastercard – Today: Vaccine distribution starts, Electoral College meets.MORE (D-Md.) and Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyThis week: Congress braces for chaotic finishWindow quickly closing for big coronavirus dealCongress ‘close’ to massive government funding dealMORE (R-Ala.), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said separately on Wednesday that they’ll support a continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the government running if the debate over broader legislation is not wrapped up before Friday night.
“I’m against shutting down government,” Hoyer told reporters on a press call. “I think it is a stark admission of failure.”
Bipartisan negotiations are racing to iron out the lingering wrinkles in two sweeping proposals they hope to finalize Wednesday: one to fund the government through next September and the other to provide roughly $900 billion in emergency coronavirus relief to struggling families and small businesses.
The plan is then to combine those bills into a single legislative package and push it through both chambers before the current government funding bill expires at midnight on Saturday.
Congress has already adopted two short-term spending bills, one that funded the government between Oct. 1 and Dec. 11 and a second to extend that funding through Dec. 18.
With no COVID-19 deal yet announced, leaders in both parties are bracing for the possibility that another CR might be required as a cushion to allow Congress to secure passage of the broader spending legislation without shuttering government operations in the process.
“I want to get done by Friday night, but if we don’t get done by Friday night, I don’t want to shut down government,” Hoyer said. “And if we need three or four more days, we’re going to take as much time as is necessary to fund the government and as well as [bring] relief to those who have been savaged by COVID-19. So I’m not for shutting down the government, and we’ll do what it takes not to do that.”
Shelby delivered a similar message on Wednesday. Asked about passing a short CR, he indicated he would be supportive, saying Congress would do whatever we have to do.
The emerging deal on coronavirus relief marks a breakthrough for party negotiators who had sought unsuccessfully for months to secure another round of emergency aid as the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths has soared around the country.
To create the space for an agreement, each side appears to have dropped one of its primary demands: Republicans are no longer insisting on liability protections for businesses and schools, while Democrats have agreed to punt state and local government funding until next year, when they feel they’ll have more leverage with Joe BidenJoe BidenDeVos urges Education Dept. staff to ‘resist’ when Biden takes officeLGBTQ groups celebrate Buttigieg pick for Transportation secretaryBiden administration needs bipartisan solutions for older Americans, lawmakers sayMORE in the White House.
Leading lawmakers in both parties are voicing support for another short-term extension of governm…
