Appropriations Update: Senate To Begin Work This Week
The Senate has announced its intention to begin working through appropriations legislation this week. The Senate Majority Leadership has acknowledged that they have fallen behind schedule but still hope to advance the first bill packages this week.
While the Senate floor has yet to take up any appropriations measures, 10 of the 12 appropriations bills have passed out of committee on largely bipartisan votes.
Rather than taking up controversial legislation first, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has decided that the chamber will begin with funding domestic agencies.
“Congress has fallen badly behind schedule on appropriations,” McConnell said from the Senate floor on Thursday. “It is time to make progress. Let's make good on all the talk about bipartisanship and finally make progress toward funding the government.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has also expressed interest in moving forward with funding measures this week with the Senate.
“We are prepared to cooperate with the administration and with our Republican colleagues to ensure that the government is funded and serving the American people and defending the American people,” Hoyer said. “The Senate has not passed any appropriations bills. We're concerned about that, but we're going to work very hard between now and Nov. 21 and thereafter if necessary—I hope it's not necessary—to get an agreement so that the government can be operational.”
The House has passed 10 out of 12 appropriations measures on the floor in predominantly party-line votes.
The House and Senate previously passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through November 21. Neither chamber has dismissed the idea of additional continuing resolutions to avoid a government shutdown.
