Senate leader set to force end of debate over omnibus spending bill
The continuing resolution funding most government operations expires on Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., appears to have enough support to force a final vote on a $410 billion fiscal 2009 omnibus spending bill, but to win the cloture vote he will probably need the support of some Democrats who might oppose the bill on final passage.
The cloture vote could come as early as Thursday night as lawmakers race the clock, trying to get the bill to President Obama before a continuing resolution that is funding most government operations expires at midnight Friday.
Some Democrats who have said they will vote against the bill or haven't decided how to vote, including Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, said they will vote for cloture.
But some Republicans who have expressed support for the bill, including Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said they would vote against cloture. With the help of a handful of other Republicans, such as Appropriations ranking member Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Christopher (Kit) Bond of Missouri and Susan Collins of Maine, Reid seems likely to get the 60 votes he needs to cut off debate.
Passage of any amendments would require the House to vote on the bill again, a step Democrats say there is no time for. For that reason, Reid has told amendment sponsors that their proposals will be voted down, senators said. Reid said the Senate would vote on five amendments this evening, including a proposal from Murkowski that would require a public comment period before the Interior and Commerce departments can rescind a Bush administration rule that limited protection for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act, and an amendment from Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., prohibiting omnibus funds from being used to pay any United Nations' tax.
Opponents of an Internal Revenue Service pilot program that allows private firms to collect small tax debts are near victory after several years of efforts to kill the program. An amendment by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to eliminate a provision in the bill defunding the IRS program is almost certain to be defeated, according to Grassley. The National Treasury Employees Union, which includes many IRS employees, has been lobbying for years for legislation eliminating the program.