With the fate of a long-term government funding bill in the hands of the U.S. Senate, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid urged fellow lawmakers on Friday to pass the measure, even though it contains provisions that lawmakers in both parties oppose.
“This bill is not perfect,” Reid said in a morning floor speech. “We can be proud that we left our priorities better-funded and more secure, and our government on more sound footing, than when this Congress began.”
The $1.1 trillion package has garnered opposition from both the liberal wing of the Democratic party and the GOP’s conservative faction.
Liberals oppose several provisions, primarily language that rolls back a key banking reform Democrats pushed to passage in 2010.
Conservatives are unhappy the legislation omits language that would block President Obama from enacting a recent directive that would allow 5 million illegal immigrants to obtain work permits.
The Senate will need 60 votes to clear an important procedural hurdle. Democrats and Republicans will meet separately in closed-door meetings this afternoon to discuss moving forward on the legislation. Work could carry on into the weekend, with a final vote as late as Monday.
The House narrowly passed the measure late Thursday after hours of back-room talks. A two-day measure will keep the government operating long enough for the Senate to take up the larger package.
Obama supports the bill and plans to sign it.
