Congress may have managed to temporarily dodge a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution last month to keep the government funded until, Dec. 9, but the budget battle is far from over.
The stop-gap measure designed to keep current spending levels in place buys Congress some extra time to complete the appropriations process upon their return in November, but a number of conservatives fear this approach will lead to a last-minute omnibus riddled with policy riders and higher spending levels.
While GOP leadership has made it clear they would like to get as many spending bills passed as possible, they have floated the idea of passing “mini-buses,” lumping a small number of bills together in an attempt to add transparency to the process versus having another all-encompassing bill negotiated behind closed doors.
House Democrats remain skeptical of the plan, leaving conservatives to worry that a leftist agenda will slip through the lame duck session.
“Yeah, I mean, we wanted to do regular order, Harry Reid said no. And they said no on the military appropriations bill. And so, to get a bunch of mini-buses, Harry Reid’s gonna have to say yes to that somewhere, and I don’t see him doing that,” House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Dave Brat of Virginia told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “You know, I don’t know how anybody sees him doing any of that. So I think were gonna get an omni, and Nancy Pelosi said we’re gonna have an omnibus, and you know, I mean, they’re already signaling what they want.”
Brat said with Republicans holding the majority in both chambers, the GOP needs to fight to avoid massive spending increases, arguing they will have to answer to their constituents who aren’t pleased with the country’s $616 billion deficit and $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
“They (the minority) weren’t elected, they’re in a minority, and they’re trying to block the entire work of Congress, right here, on this day,” he said. “And we never do that, and partly, I think it’s cause some of, on our team, aren’t that unhappy with the big spending.”
Minority Leader Harry Reid’s office did not respond to request for comment on whether the senator would support moving forward with mini-buses.
Congress returns from recess Nov. 14.
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