As a lame-duck Congress convenes Monday, Democrats are still hoping to pass a $1 trillion year-end budget bill in spite of the anti-spending fervor that dealt a blow to their party in the midterm elections.
The backlog of unfinished business facing the lawmakers includes Congress’s most basic job: keeping the government running after Dec. 2, when a stopgap appropriations bill expires.
Republicans, fresh from an election victory they see as a mandate to rein in government spending, have set a goal of cutting appropriations to 2008 levels, which would reduce domestic programs by $100 billion.
Full Story: Political News and Analysis: Democrats Face Headwinds on Budget – WSJ.com