BUDGET/HOUSE OF REPS: “House Republican leaders on Friday [12-1-17] will propose a short-term bill to keep the government funded through Dec. 22, GOP aides and lawmakers said Thursday.
The government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 9, giving lawmakers about a week to avoid a shutdown. Congressional leaders are working on a two-year budget deal that would enable them to write a detailed spending bill for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. In the meantime, lawmakers would have to pass a short-term bill to avoid a partial government shutdown next weekend.
House GOP leaders had earlier this week considered passing a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded at current levels into January, but they ran into resistance from the Defense Department. Military officials want to see a long-term bill with higher military spending passed as soon as possible.
Since the short-term bill through Dec. 22 will be a must-pass piece of legislation, lawmakers are certain to try to cram other measures onto it.”
-Kristina Peterson, “House GOP to Propose Short-Term Spending Bill,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 30, 2017 06:18pm