An omnibus funding bill is facing delays in Congress ahead of a Friday government shutdown deadline, with lawmakers scrambling to answer a number of open questions in the $1.3 trillion package related to border security, infrastructure projects, and gun violence prevention measures.
House leaders previously hoped to release the text of the bill, which would keep the government funded for the remainder of fiscal year 2018, sometime Monday night. On Tuesday morning, however, it was nowhere to be found. When I asked a House aide involved in the appropriations process where the bill was, he answered, “I don’t know. If you happen to see it, would you tell it that we love it and we just want it to come home?”
House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters during a press conference that congressional leaders are “hoping to post today.” He went on to downplay the possibility that lawmakers may turn to another stopgap spending measure to keep the lights on.
“No, we’re not talking about that,” said Ryan.
But his initially optimistic schedule, which projected a House vote on Wednesday, appears improbable, to say the least. A House source told me the vote is more likely to take place on Thursday instead.
Ryan’s spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, said Republican members were told during a GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning that negotiators have “made a lot of progress and gotten a lot of our priorities but we’re still fighting for some items.”
Lawmakers are haggling over funding for the construction of President Donald Trump’s desired wall along the southern border and a $900 million package to fund the so-called Gateway project, which would connect New Jersey and New York via a new rail tunnel.
Also up in the air are gun violence prevention proposals, such as Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn’s “Fix NICS” background check bill. Speaker Ryan said during his press conference that he supports the measure, but Republicans are still talking through whether or not to include it in the spending package.
Frustration is growing among fiscal hawks due to sparse details from leadership on the massive spending bill, leaving little time for members to review the legislation. “What’s in the omnibus bill that will fund the entire country on Wednesday?” Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie asked scathingly after a conference meeting Monday night. “No one can tell you for sure.”
Top appropriator Rep. Tom Cole estimated as he left the GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning that there were still 20-30 unresolved policy items. Lawmakers are racing the clock to answer those questions, but timing remains unclear.
Asked when denizens of Capitol Hill could expect to see text of the omnibus, Cole answered matter-of-factly, “We’ll know whenever it’s filed.”
