Advertisement

Congress looks to postpone deadline for new $1.1T spending bill until next week

By Doug G. Ware
U.S. President Barack Obama stands next to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (C) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, after delivering remarks at an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolish slavery, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Lawmakers continue to work toward passing a new $1.1 trillion spending bill and avert a government shutdown. Pool photo by Aude Guerrucci/UPI
U.S. President Barack Obama stands next to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (C) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, after delivering remarks at an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolish slavery, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Lawmakers continue to work toward passing a new $1.1 trillion spending bill and avert a government shutdown. Pool photo by Aude Guerrucci/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- As a Friday deadline looms for Congress to get a new spending bill passed, and avert a government shutdown, lawmakers are trying to push that cutoff to the middle of next week.

On Wednesday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers introduced a measure to postpone the deadline until Wednesday, Dec. 16, The Hill congressional blog reported.

Advertisement

The House and Senate continue to work toward a new omnibus spending bill to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. Tuesday, House speaker Paul Ryan indicated that lawmakers may not be able to get it done by Friday, when funding expires.

President Barack Obama said through a White House spokesman that he is open to extending that deadline for a few days to allow lawmakers to finalize a deal, but nothing beyond that.

Part of the delay in getting a new spending bill passed is due to "riders" tacked onto the $1.1 trillion bill.

"The president is not going to sign a piece of legislation to give them more time to negotiate on a set of ideological riders," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. "Those riders should not be part of the process."

Advertisement

Lawmakers are expected to vote on the stopgap measure Friday, just hours before the midnight deadline.

"We have got a lot of items to discuss and resolve. Dozens, in fact," Rogers told reporters Wednesday. "We are making some progress but it's been slow."

Congress was supposed to depart on the annual holiday break Friday, but passage of the spending bill might require lawmakers to delay their travel plans by a few days.

Latest Headlines