The House Wednesday will consider a "clean" continuing resolution lasting until either Oct. 31 or Nov. 7, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said today.
Armey said Republican leaders are still exploring how much additional time is needed to complete the remaining appropriations bills, and the answer will dictate the length of the CR.
Appropriators are recommending the CR last until Nov. 7, contending that the appropriations process will be completed by then. Armey said family planning language, education testing, school vouchers for District of Columbia students and census language are still bogging down four separate funding measures.
"These things are difficult," he said, adding he is not certain how any of them will be resolved.
On education testing, Armey noted the House had approved language prohibiting the Education Department from spending money on national tests, with 295 members supporting the provision. "I haven't seen anyone walk away from a vote of 295," he said. Republicans also remain committed to opposing sampling as part of the 2000 census, saying they want to ensure the census is "accurate," Armey said.
The House Wednesday also will consider Amtrak reauthorization legislation, he said, but without any provisions dealing with a possible strike of the passenger railroad. Armey said House GOP leaders still have not decided whether to consider campaign finance reform legislation, and did not appear sympathetic to legislators who are unhappy with President Clinton's use of the line item veto.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported today that House Republican leaders have agreed to a short-term extension of an expiring law that allows certain illegal immigrants to remain in the United States by paying a $1,000 fine while seeking legal status. That law was extended earlier this year in the first CR, although opponents led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., argued the law encourages illegal immigration, and threatened to try to block any future attempt to extend it. But leaders may try to add it to the new CR.
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