Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that a deal had been reached to avert a government shutdown.
For weeks, the parties had been arguing over the need to increase funding to deal with the string of natural disasters in the U.S., with Republicans insisting that any increased emergency aid be offset by spending cuts elsewhere. The debate came with the Sept. 30 date approaching for the end of the fiscal year. As it turns out, the debate was much ado about nothing. The Obama administration informed Reid today that FEMA actually had enough money to fund emergency operations through Thursday, as opposed to Monday, or even last week, as some Democrats had warned.
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Because of this, Reid and McConnell were able to strike a deal that would keep FEMA funding at its original level for the remainder of this fiscal year (which ends Friday), because it’s already slated to get new money once the new fiscal year starts.
Logistically, the Senate leaders plan to pass two bills tonight — a one-week measure to keep the government funded for another week, and a separate measure to keep it going through Nov. 18.
Though House members are supposed to be in recess, the expectation is that they’ll hold a pro forma session, allowing them to pass the one-week measure by unanimous consent, meaning it passes as long as nobody objects, and there’s no need for a formall roll call vote. Then, when House members return next week, they’ll debate the second measure that will keep government funded through Nov. 18.
Asked whether the House would go along with the plan to pass the one-week funding bill by unanimous consent, Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, emailed:
