House and Senate Democrats will huddle with President Obama at the White House Thursday to discuss their strategy for working with Republicans to fund the government past Sept. 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the meeting, adding that he still hopes to sit down with congressional Republicans to work out a spending proposal on which both sides can agree.
He said Democrats are still seeking a boost in domestic spending to match the increase Republicans have proposed for the military. Reid said the deal should also include lifting the debt ceiling, which will soon be reached.
“We shouldn’t have a multitude of these fights,” Reid said. “We should get them all done at the same time.”
Democrats have some leverage, as the House GOP needs their help to pass spending legislation thanks to a revolt among conservatives seeking to defund Planned Parenthood.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted Wednesday that in the Senate, Democrats have been blocking timely consideration of spending legislation. Congress, he said, would take up a short-term spending bill that will fund the government until “late fall,” McConnell said, while the GOP negotiates with the White House and Democrats over a long-term budget that lasts the rest of the year.
“We are not going to shut the government down,” McConnell said. “We’ll enter into a classic negotiation in which we’ll work out our differences and fund the government.”
There have been no bipartisan spending negotiations so far, however, despite the short timeline for working out a deal.
Instead, Republicans in the Senate have begun talks with Republicans in the House, while Democrats head to the White House to confer with the president.
