Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell chided the opposition for holding up last-minute spending legislation to keep the government funded beyond midnight Saturday, as a small group of Democratic senators pledged to fight the bill until they could secure a longer extension of health benefits for retired coal miners.
A broad majority in the House passed a continuing resolution Thursday to carry forward government funding at current levels through the end of April 2017. The health benefits at issue, which are set to expire at the end of this year, would be continued for the same length. But coal-country senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and a few colleagues, including Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, say the four-month fix is unsatisfactory. McConnell retorted that it’s the best they can get for now.
“This is a good time to take yes for an answer. We should pass the bill without delay. Because if we don’t pass the bill, the health benefits will go away at the end of this month,” McConnell said from the Senate floor Friday morning. He added he intends to ensure the miners’ benefits are extended for longer, but said the current legislative session is all but finished.
“The House is gone. They’re through for this session,” he added. The House adjourned and lawmakers headed home after wrapping up their business.
118 House Democrats joined 208 Republicans in passing the CR.
Although the coal-state Democrats have shown the biggest appetite for the fight in the Senate, their caucus’s incoming leader signaled support Thursday.
“I just want to say to everybody here, we are going to win this fight. I can’t predict the exact path, but we are going to win this fight because we’re right,” New York senator Chuck Schumer said. “We want to get these beautiful people their due, and we won’t stop ’til we do.”
