Spending Deal Near as Congress Puts Off Immigration Fight
Congress is a step closer to funding most of the U.S. government through September 2015 with a plan that sidesteps Tea Party opposition and pushes the fight over immigration policy to the new Republican Congress.
After yesterdays symbolic House vote to protest President Barack Obamas order easing deportation of undocumented immigrants, committee leaders in both parties are working toward completion of a spending bill with votes expected next week. Democrats and Republicans said they plan to keep the government open after Dec. 11, when current funding expires.
If the bill is anything that we can support, we will, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters today in Washington. While Pelosi said her party opposes destructive provisions sought by Republicans, she also said, Were not going to be a party to shutting down the government.
House Speaker John Boehner devised the two-step strategy to keep Tea Party members from using the funding bill to vent their frustration over Obamas executive order. The real battle over immigration will come next year, when Republicans also control the Senate, Boehner of Ohio said yesterday.
The House will work to keep the government open while keeping our leverage so that when we have reinforcements in the Senate, were in the strongest position to take additional actions to fight the presidents unilateral actions, Boehner told reporters.
That strategy gives us the best chance for success, he said.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers and Senate counterpart Barbara Mikulski want to unveil the spending plan on Dec. 8 as negotiations continue over which policy provisions will be added, said a congressional aide who sought anonymity to describe the private talks.
Negotiators are at odds over Republican proposals that include repealing part of the Dodd-Frank financial law to allow more swaps trading to be conducted at banks that have federal insurance. Democrats also oppose attempts to change standards for school lunches and Clean Air Act rules, Pelosi said.
Also being discussed is a provision that would roll back safety rules aimed at ensuring truck drivers get enough rest, a provision that U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said should be rejected.
Foxx said he strongly opposes the plan, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 5 and didnt come to a floor vote.
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Spending Deal Near as Congress Puts Off Immigration Fight