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WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Lawmakers might not be able to meet a Friday deadline to pass a spending bill that would allow the government to keep operating, House speaker Paul Ryan said Monday -- meaning Congress may need to work into the weekend. Ryan said lawmakers have been working to get a bill, known as an omnibus, passed but there remains work to do before it can be sent to President Barack Obama's desk.
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"It might take us more than just this week to get these issues put together correctly," Ryan said in a radio interview Monday.
Congress is under the gun to pass legislation. Without it, the government would be forced to shut down.
Many lawmakers made holiday travel plans for the weekend, as Congress is supposed to recess beginning Saturday. Trouble getting the spending $1.1 trillion bill passed, though, have forced some to change those plans, The Hill reported.
Even though lawmakers possibly won't make the deadline, they say a government shutdown is unlikely. In the event a bill isn't passed by Friday, a temporary bill will probably be passed to allow the government to keep operating for a few extra days.
The White House said Monday that Obama would approve a short-term extension if Congress can't get a deal done by Friday. However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, the president won't approve anything more than that.
Lawmakers are going through details of the spending bill, which include a number of "riders" -- unrelated political issues tacked onto the bill.
"It is the responsibility of Congress to step forward and do their job and pass a budget for the United States government on time," Earnest said. "That is going to require Republicans in Congress abandoning their continuing effort to advance their ideological agenda through the budgetary process."
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has already challenged Republicans' attempts to piggyback some issues onto the bill.
"In order for us to support the Omnibus bill, the poison pill riders must go," she said in a letter to colleagues Monday.
A package of tax breaks is also something that could be attached to a spending bill. The Washington Post reported Monday that the tax provisions have led to a snag in negotiations.
"We thought we had an agreement, and were moving very substantially but then complications with the tax extenders have been a bit of a setback," Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., said. "But we were making great progress on the money -- I felt great progress on the riders. But right now we seem to be stuck."
