Congress Has Until Friday To Pass Year-End Spending Bill
Policy riders threaten to be a flashpoint as lawmakers work to reach a spending deal in order to avert a government shutdown.
The Washington Post:
Pressure Mounts For A Year-End Spending Deal
A bipartisan group of negotiators worked through the weekend in hopes of striking a year-end spending deal by Monday so Congress has enough time to pass the legislation before Dec. 11 and avert a government shutdown. The weekend sessions came after Democrats rejected an initial proposal from Republicans last week that included dozens of policy riders that GOP lawmakers wanted to attach to the must-pass legislation. ... The biggest issue facing negotiations on the omnibus spending bill is the policy riders being pushed by Republicans. ... Democrats said they will not budge on any riders aimed at attacking abortion rights, curbing funds for Planned Parenthood or undermining President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. (Snell, 12/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
House Conservatives Work To Shape Spending Bill
Congress has until Friday to pass a $1.15 trillion spending bill to keep the government running once its current funding expires Friday. Lawmakers agreed to the bill’s overall spending level when they passed a two-year budget agreement in late October, during Mr. Boehner’s final week in office. But Republicans and Democrats have found plenty to disagree over since then as they hashed out funding for individual government programs and sparred over which other policy measures should get attached to the bill. ... Conservatives said they also need to see some antiabortion measures included in the spending bill. Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said more than 100 Republicans signed a letter to GOP leaders backing antiabortion provisions, including one permitting states to decide whether to withhold federal Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood Federation of America. (Peterson, 12/6)
