Democrats say House will vote next week to avert government shutdown

Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The House plans to vote next week on a resolution to keep the federal government funded for the next six weeks, House Democratic leader Rep. Steny Hoyer said Wednesday.

Hoyer said he expects a "relatively clean" bill, indicating it might not contain language or provisions that have made previous spending measures difficult to pass in Congress.

Senate Republicans, however, have not said whether they will pass the resolution.

White House Director of legislative affairs Eric Ueland told reporters President Donald Trump is willing to support the short-term spending measure if it doesn't block "any ability of the president's to pursue his policies."

The bill would prevent a lapse in funding after Nov. 21 and extend the deadline for a new spending package to Dec. 20. The resolution would also allow the House and Senate to keep negotiating a longer-term budget bill.

Although Congress has already approved much of a two-year budget deal, details including border security and defense funding remain unresolved. Funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border led to a 35-day shutdown earlier this year.

The proposed extension was announced Wednesday by House appropriations committee Chairwoman Rep. Nita Lowry, D-N.Y., after she met with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., her Senate counterpart.

"In a rational world, this would be relatively easy to get accomplished," said Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., chairman of the House budget committee. "But with this president, there's no way to predict what he's going to do."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell have said they will not allow government funding to lapse.