Dave Newman / Shutterstock.com

Fight Brews Over How Long a Shutdown-Avoiding Measure Should Last

Some want all 2015 spending issues to be pushed into the next Congress.

Unexpected drama is emerging over a bill that Congress must pass to keep the federal government funded beyond the Oct. 1 start of its new fiscal year, and it could throw a wrench into what is intended to be only a brief return to Washington for lawmakers next month amid their reelection campaigns.

This fight isn't about the necessity of doing such a continuing budget resolution to avoid another government shutdown, or even how much spending it should contain.

Rather, this battle is over how long such a temporary spending bill should last—and it is being fueled by uncertainty over whether Democrats will maintain control of the Senate after the Nov. 4 elections.

Some House Republicans—hopeful their party will take over the Senate majority—are now privately hedging on whether they should go along in September with passage of a continuing resolution that would expire in December, rather than some later date in 2015. If pushed into next year, the GOP then might control both chambers and Democrats would have less leverage in passing a new budget bill.

"This could lead into a real standoff," said one senior House GOP leadership aide, adding that Democrats are unlikely to go along with extending the CR into next year, and a new Congress.

The House is scheduled to return to session on Sept. 8 for 10 days of legislative work next month and two days in October, when they then break for good until after the election. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said senators will be in session through Sept. 23, but will also be working on the weekends.

It has become clear that Congress will have to pass some type of stopgap spending bill to keep government open past Oct. 1, and the CR will most likely extend current funding levels. None of the 12 annual appropriations bills for federal agencies has yet passed in versions agreed upon by both chambers. In fact, the Senate has yet to pass even one of those bills.

Before the current recess, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were predicting that a CR would likely be passed in September, and most said it would extend funding through Dec. 15. Even House Speaker John Boehner told reporters during a news conference in late July that a stopgap bill would probably be written to expire in early December, when Congress is expected to be back for its lame-duck session.

A spokesman for Boehner did not respond on Wednesday when asked whether the speaker and other House Republicans are now considering whether to push for an expiration date in 2015. Likewise a Reid spokesman did not comment on whether Senate Democrats would demand an expiration date before the new Congress takes office.

But other aides confirm that some Republicans are now focusing on the fact that a Dec. 15 expiration date would provide the current Senate Democratic majority one more opportunity to block Republicans from amending the spending bill for fiscal 2015.

All of this hand-wringing, of course, comes despite earlier hopes for budget comity that had been raised after a two-year deal was crafted by GOP Rep. Paul Ryan and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray last year. The deal that Congress enacted established spending levels—a usual source of much of the House and Senate fiscal friction—for 2015.

The two-year accord sets the budget at $1.014 trillion for fiscal 2015, up from $1.012 trillion this year. (Those figures do not include mandated spending on entitlement programs.) The assumption was that those agreements would kick-start House and Senate action in passing the 12 annual spending bills. But that has not happened. As a result, a CR is under development, though details of what it contains have not been publicly released.

A House Republican aide said Wednesday there is a good chance at least two unrelated items will be attached to what otherwise would be a "clean" CR.

One of those items would be a temporary renewal of the Export-Import Bank that will see its existing authorization expire on Sept. 30. Although many conservatives criticize the bank that provides loans to support U.S. export sales as meddling in the market and a risk to taxpayers, a decision to extend its authority for six months, or some other short term, would allow lawmakers to continue hashing that out after the election.

Temporary renewal of the federal backstop for terrorism insurance—due to expire at the end of the year—is another item that may be attached to a stopgap spending bill. That would allow more time for differences between a Senate bill and the demands for changes by House conservatives to be ironed out.

(Image via Dave Newman / Shutterstock.com)

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.