Republicans and Democrats are still fighting over dozens of policy proposals in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending legislation, which could postpone action on the bill until next week, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said Wednesday.
“We have a lot of issues to discuss and resolve,” said the Kentucky Republican. “Dozens, in fact. We are making progress but it’s been slow.”
Rogers is negotiating alongside Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with Democratic leaders and President Obama to reach a final deal, but real sticking points remain.
Chief among them is a GOP provision that the Obama administration opposes, which would roll back a new EPA rule that would extend the federal government’s authority to regulate streams, marshes and other bodies of water. A U.S. Court of Appeals has so far blocked enforcement of the new rule, which Republicans see as an overreach of authority that will hurt businesses and farmers.
Democrats are also balking at GOP attempts to include language from a House-passed, bipartisan bill, that would essentially halt the resettlement of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the United States.
“That’s on the table,” Rogers said.
Republican leaders said the House could be in session this weekend to deal with the dispute. A temporary spending bill expires on Friday, but lawmakers are expected to pass a week-long extension soon in order to keep he government funded.
Republicans leaders, according to rank-and-file members, are sifting through the various policy proposals, or “riders,” to determine which ones must be included to attract enough GOP votes.
The most conservative flank, the House Freedom Caucus, said they want the Syrian refugee language included at the minimum to earn their consideration of the bill. Conservatives said the bill already exceeds the federally mandated spending caps, making it far less attractive to them.
“It’s going to take some really strong riders for me to vote for it,” Rep. John Fleming, R-La., said.
Rogers spoke in Congress just as the White House was warning again that President Obama would not accept a continuing spending resolution that lasts months or weeks, and that Congress has already had enough time to make a deal.
