Republican leaders are hinting at progress in government funding negotiations as leaders try to finalize a deal ahead of Friday's looming deadline.
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters Monday that “the gap is narrowing” between the sides as they try to rush through the last major funding deal in a divided Congress. said.
“It's both an issue between the House and the Senate, between Republicans and Democrats. So those are both institutional differences, and there are partisan differences as well,” Cole said. However, he added, “The number is significantly lower than it was 24 hours ago.”
Lawmakers are expected to announce the text of the law over the weekend. But those hopes were dashed when economic support for farmers emerged as a major sticking point in negotiations. Both sides traded accusations over the weekend as negotiations over support for farmers appeared to be stalling.
Mr Cole said on Monday that talks were “moving in the right direction”, but acknowledged that aid was a “substantive” element of the talks.
In one sign of how important farm aid is to some lawmakers, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the senior appropriations lawmaker, has expressed concerns about future plans that do not include aid to farmers and ranchers. He vowed to oppose large-scale stopgap funding.
“Kansas farmers are struggling to stay above water through no fault of their own, and it is critical that they receive assistance as soon as possible to stay afloat,” he said. said. said in a statement on social platform X..
Lawmakers on both sides have laid out details of more than $10 billion in relief proposals, but partisan divisions remain divided over the scope of the aid and how it would work. Some Republican lawmakers have also expressed concerns about the potential costs.
House Budget Committee Chairwoman Jody Arrington (R-Texas) said Monday that “extraordinary emergency spending always, and always by its very nature, wastes more taxpayer money.” “But we have to help both the communities that were devastated by the hurricane, and we have to do something to help people in rural areas that have been affected by the hurricane.”
The Continuing Resolution (CR) will also include disaster relief funding for the recent hurricanes that caused severe damage in North Carolina and Florida, and members will also be required to provide funding for a number of other issues, including possible last-minute measures on health care. Additional measures are being negotiated.
Since the CR is the last major bill Congress is expected to consider before the end of the session and the new Congress, lawmakers are plotting to add all sorts of items to the must-pass bill.
Pressed on the state of health care as leaders try to fix CR's unfinished business, House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said Monday that “there's going to be a big debate on all the remaining items.” “We are aware of this,” he said.
“But we are trying to end it,” he said.
The bill is one of the final tests for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) ahead of a Jan. 3 House vote. Mr Johnson has been successful in drawing support from conservatives, but hardliners are waiting to see how he deals with year-end funding issues before announcing their support. He said there was.
Johnson will likely need support from Democrats to pass the CR through the House of Commons. Republicans hold a slim majority, and hardline conservatives have already expressed disapproval of some of the package's expectations.
Congressman Chip Roy (R-Texas) Post to X He indicated that he did not support the inclusion of additional measures such as reforming pharmacy benefit managers.
“People may call me crazy, but we should cut the deficit and not pass stupid policies,” Roy said.
