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 House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal
Rogers urged Congress instead to pass a full-fledged government
spending bill that lasts until Sept. 30, 2015.
To do otherwise would be "punting" on important duties and put the
United States "on an uncertain and unstable fiscal path," Rogers
wrote in an opinion piece published by the Roll Call newspaper.
"Worst of all, it would send a signal to the American people, just
weeks after they told us to get our acts together, that we haven’t
been listening," the Kentucky Republican wrote.
Congress must authorize new federal spending by Dec. 11 to avoid a
government shutdown. Rogers is currently negotiating with Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski to craft an
"omnibus" spending bill that would last until Sept. 30, 2015.
 But more than 63 House conservatives have called for a short-term
spending bill that would deny the funds needed to implement any
executive action taken by Obama to issue identification cards or
work permits to millions of undocumented immigrants.
Such a strategy, which would ultimately threaten a government
shutdown, is under discussion by Republican leaders in the House and
Senate.
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Rogers also argued Congress should fully fund the government for
2015 so it can concentrate on other priorities next year, such as
tax reform and reducing government regulations.
"There simply won’t be the necessary political bandwidth available
to address these pressing issues if Congress is bogged down in old
battles and protracted to-do lists," he wrote.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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