Senate eyes funding deal to avoid shutdown

Senate Democrats appear confident Congress can pass a continuing resolution to avoid a third government shutdown this year.

With funding expected to lapse before the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, lawmakers are under pressure to get something completed in time for the midterm elections in November.

"People understand that it would be helpful to have a [continuing resolution] that extends beyond the election," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told Axios on Wednesday. "So, it doesn't get all bound up in partisan discussions around the elections."

"I just think everybody's trying to give ourselves room to find a bipartisan agreement, and we are not there yet," said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.

Asked whether the vibes were positive, Schatz replied: "Not negative."

The House voted 220-205 late Tuesday to extend federal government funding at existing levels through Dec. 4. Six Democrats joined Republicans to advance the bill.

But rather than taking up the House-passed bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he plans to continue working on a separate bipartisan spending package.

"The most important thing that we need to do is to fund the government, and on that front Chair Susan Collins is working with Democrats on the Appropriations Committee to find a path forward to have a continuing resolution to keep the government funded to get past the November elections so that we don't have the specter of a government shutdown," Thune told reporters at a news conference Tuesday with Senate GOP leaders.

"[It is] something that happened a couple of times this last year, and the disruption, chaos that creates is just something that both sides ought to be willing to try and avoid.

"And so, I think it's going to be really important that we figure out a path forward to get a bipartisan agreement to fund the government that will keep government open and ensure that government employees are getting paid, and that is something that I intend to bring to the floor for a vote before the August break."

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Axios he doesn't believe there will be much dispute over a bipartisan agreement "unless the Democrats change their minds."

"Perhaps we can get ours passed, and then when the House comes back the last week of August, they can pass it there," Wicker said.

The House on Wednesday narrowly passed a budget resolution that would unlock a new reconciliation package. But Thune appears to be putting that effort on the back burner until a stopgap funding measure is secured.

"If they give us a budget resolution as a vehicle, we will hold that subject to obviously being able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government," Thune said Tuesday. "It's a possibility that if necessary we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government, I hope that's not necessary.

"As I said, we've had conversations, productive conversations, on both sides of the aisle on a funding resolution that would carry us past the November election."

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chair of the House Budget Committee, said Thune is making a mistake by delaying work on the reconciliation package.

"He's the leader of the Senate. I think it's a mistake to hold up such an important piece of legislation," Arrington said.

But new Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson, R-Wis., appears more comfortable with Thune's timeline and sequencing.

"With [Senate Appropriations Committee Chair] Susan [Collins] apparently showing progress toward a CR [continuing resolution] — even talking about a defense supplemental in that agreement — that would, to a certain extent, negate having to do one," Johnson said, referring to a separate reconciliation package, according to Axios.