House to take up Defense spending bill, hold off on others

After considering the defense spending bill for fiscal 2013 next week, the House will not bring any more appropriations measures to the floor before the election, according to aides, making it highly likely each chamber will have to bundle messy funding bills during the lame duck session.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday made clear the Senate would not take up any of the 12 annual spending bills before the election, an announcement received poorly in the House.

"It is extremely disappointing that the Senate Democrat leadership is defaulting on their most basic fiscal duty as representatives of the people of this country," House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said in a statement Wednesday morning. "The 12 annual appropriations bills cannot be swept under the rug and ignored until a more convenient political time."

But it is increasingly likely the House, once it takes up defense funding next week, will also be unable to pass each of its five remaining bills under regular order.