House and Senate Republicans said they are close a two-year spending deal that would end the need for the string of short-term funding measures that they’ve had to pass for the last several months.
“I am very hopeful that we can come to an agreement very soon,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday.
The deal would circumvent a showdown on government funding later in the week by providing an accord on how to lift mandatory budget caps on both domestic and defense budgets. A temporary funding bill, the fourth passed this fiscal year, expires on Thursday.
According to Schumer, the Democrats “are making very, very good progress in achieving parity” on domestic spending in comparison to the increase in defense funding Republicans are seeking. That split over defense and domestic spending has prevented a deal for months now.
The two parties have also been hampered by a stalled immigration reform agreement. Democrats had insisted a provision to protect so-called Dreamers be included in the spending deal, but appeared to have dropped that demand now that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged to bring up immigration reform for a vote next week.
McConnell confirmed a major budget deal is close.
“I think we are on the way to getting an agreement and on the way to getting an agreement very soon,” he said.
The deal could include additional spending, including a host of Medicare and Medicaid provisions that the House will pass later today, as well as money to fund community health centers for an additional two years.
While the Senate negotiates a two-year deal, the House has scheduled a vote on a bill that funds the government until March 23, with the addition of a full year of defense spending. The bill will pass the House with all GOP support, but Senate Democrats are poised to block it because they disagree with the domestic funding amount.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said if a two-year deal on the budget and caps is reached, the Senate will pass it first then send it back to the House by Thursday, ahead of the deadline.
“It sounds like to me that we are getting pretty close,” Blunt said.
Schumer said House Democrats are in agreement with the pending caps deal. “I think we are working from the same page,” he said.
In addition to the Medicaid and Medicare provisions, the spending deal could also include disaster aid and a provision to lift the nation’s borrowing limit, which Treasury officials warned will expire in March.
“The debt ceiling is something that some would want to see as part of this deal,” Schumer said. “Nothing has been agreed to on that part of the caps deal.”
House Democrats are scheduled to attend a planning retreat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore later in the week. They will likely have to return early in order to vote on a spending bill by late Thursday.
